Shortcake
by AnimeRANDOMNESS
Summary: It's bad enough I'm stuck at the height of 5 foot 1. It's worse that I got saddled with the nickname "Shortcake". But developing a crush on an eccentric detective, and having said crush arrest you on suspicion of being Kira? Yep, that takes the cake.
1. Involving Love, a Name, and Handcuffs

**(This story begins just after when Light forgets everything, including that he is Kira, and the Death Note. He's already joined the investigation. This is written in my OC's perspective.)**

Life and I are not on the greatest of terms right now.

Actually, now that I think about it, Life and me have never been on great terms. It started when I was born premature, causing me not only to be legally blind without my glasses, but to also be a skinny little shrimp who promptly stopped growing at age twelve. It didn't get any better when my selfish parents found out they were both having affairs, and started a five-year-long custody battle over me. By the time both had worked out an agreement, I had turned eighteen, and ran for it. Using most of the money I had saved up over the years, I bought a one-way ticket to Japan and didn't think twice.

For a little while, my luck changed. I leaned Japanese much faster than I thought possible, rented out a cute lil' apartment from this amazingly nice grandma, and found my dream job; working in a bakery. My boss, and owner of the bakery, Ryoko Sohma, is the most amazing person ever; she not only let me apprentice under her as a pastry chef, but also "adopted" me as her surrogate little sister. She loves to tease me, but she's violently protective of me, and I do mean _violent._ Her father was in the Yakuza, and if Ryoko wanted to, she could be the head of the mafia, I swear.

For a year and a half, I had a fresh start, my own place, a job I loved, and a boss who was more like family to me than my own family was.

Then Life snuck up and sucker punched me in the face.

It started off with a crush. I'm pretty sure that most horrible things that happen can be traced back to a crush. This one was on a certain customer who began frequenting the bakery.

He was a lot different from the other customers. Heck, he was a lot different from other men, or even other human beings.

His jet-black hair stuck out in loose spikes all over his head, not in a _I spent three hours and two tubs of hair gel _kind of way, but more like _I woke up like this and just decided to go with it_ kind of way. Said hair covered up the top portion of his face, and his large, wide eyes peered out from under it. His eyes were dark, beautiful, and mysteriously captivating. For reasons unknown, he had no eyebrows. Not that you could tell right away under all that black hair.

He always wore the same thing: a baggy white t-shirt, and even baggier navy blue jeans. He kept his hands firmly rooted in his pockets, and had the kind of shockingly bad posture that would make Chiropractors have nervous breakdowns.

Nearly every late afternoon, when things were at their slowest, he'd wander in, chew lightly on his thumb, and stare longingly into the display cases at each and every item we sold. And he'd usually leave with at least one of everything, holding the bags of pastries as cautiously as humanly possible, as if they would turn around and try to bite him.

Most reading the above description would deem this guy certifiable, not swoon-worthy. And when he first lumbered into the bakery, I did think he was a little…unnerving. But after I had packaged all his goodies and rang him up, he said "Thank you," in a soft, articulate purr of a voice, and gave me the most adorable little smile I'd ever seen in my life. And my heart just _melted._

After the third time he visited, I fell for him. And I fell hard.

Ryoko-chan picked up on it pretty quickly. We were in the kitchen, working on some chocolate ganache for the éclairs, and she suddenly turned towards me, a devilish grin on her face, and said, "Sooooooo…who is he?"

I blinked.

"Who?"

"The guy you're daydreaming about."

I didn't get the chance to lie. The blush that sprang to my cheeks betrayed me.

"_I-I…it's not…!"_ I managed to sputter before one of the other employees, Sakura, cut me off.

"Shortcake's got a crush on a customer," she giggled, squirting some pastry cream into the éclair shells.

Shortcake. Ugh. My dreaded nickname. It had taken only one week for everyone to come up with it. Ryoko insisted it had nothing to do with my small stature, and everything to do with my talent for making the best shortcake in the bakery. But I, along with everyone else who worked there, knew better. For the record, my real name is Noel. Though no one ever calls me that, regardless of my preference.

The news I had fallen for a customer didn't upset Ryoko. Rather, her grin just widened.

"_Really?_ Which one?"

Before I could say anything, the other girl, Miki, chimed in.

"The freaky one!"

"_He is not freaky!"_ I cried out, blushing harder. "He's _unique!" _

Both Miki and Sakura cracked up.

Why is it when you really need a good defense, you can only come up with lame ones?

"I'll be the judge of that," Ryoko-chan announced, picking up a tray of finished pastries, staring at me hard, "Next time he comes in, you point him out. _I'll_ decide if he's good enough for you or not."

I swallowed nervously and looked down at myself.

It isn't as if I'm any real catch. I'm a five-foot-one munchkin who keeps her long brown hair in a braid eighty percent of the time. My scrawny figure leaves much to be desired, and I rarely wear makeup, mostly out of necessity. Bakeries are hot. You wear makeup, you get hot, you sweat, and you end up with mascara smears down your face and eye-shadow on the cupcakes.

The only thing I really have going for me is my green-blue eyes, which I've received a few compliments on. Personally, I don't see the appeal, and maybe that's because they're hidden behind my glasses. No, they aren't huge, dorky, Coke-bottle glasses, but to me, they might as well be. They'd probably fit the rest of my appearance better.

But, as I've said, Ryoko is fiercely protective of me. And that means, unless he was the hottest guy on the face of the planet, he wasn't going to be good enough. Even though _I_ found my raven-haired, posture-challenged crush irresistible, there was a snowflake's chance in hell Ryoko would think the same.

So I poured an overly generous amount of chocolate ganache over the éclairs, and held on to the slim chance that she'd forget all about it.

No such luck.

The next day, right around three o'clock, in he slumped, this time, with someone else. His companion was about the same height as he was (or would've been, if he ever straightened up), with perfectly coifed brown hair, and smartly dressed. He was definitely good-looking enough to be a male model, and the amorous female stares he was drawing only seconded that opinion. But to me, the black-haired man beside him, who was hunched over and gawking into the pastry case, was twice as gorgeous as he was.

Did I say I had fallen hard? I did? Yeah.

Apparently, I was blushing a little, because suddenly, Ryoko was beside me. She stared at the perfect brunette male and began to grin like a madwoman.

"Atta' girl, _Shortcake-chan!"_ she whispered into my ear, slapping me hard on the back, "What a hottie!"

"Not _him!"_ I squeaked, my cheeks reddening. My eyes trailed to the floor, before darting back up shyly towards the object of my affections, _"Him."_

My boss glanced towards the awkward, raven-haired specimen beside the brown-haired Adonis. Then she looked at me like I had just stripped naked and done the Can-Can.

"You hit your head or somethin'?" she asked incredulously.

"_No!"_ I exploded, before quieting my voice, and twirling the end of my braid nervously, "It's just…he has really beautiful eyes…and he has such an adorable smile…and his soft voice…"

I ended with a dreamy sigh.

Ryoko-chan blinked, shot another look at my crush, and looked back at me.

"I don't see it," she announced, shaking her head, "But…guess it's just like my mom always said…"

"Love is blind?" I offered hopefully.

"Actually, my mom always said 'Love hits you with a stupid stick'," she clarified, before raising an eyebrow, "You sure _that's_ the guy you want to get down an' dirty with?"

"_R-Ryoko-chan!"_ I gasped, blushing wildly.

Another thing about Ryoko. I love her to death, but subtlety? Not her niche.

My boss chuckled.

"Guess that's a 'yes'. Well, then!"

She stood up straight, and nodded towards the raven-haired young man.

"Go ask his name."

"W-What? No!" I exclaimed, backing up a step, "I can't do that!"

"Aw, come on," she urged, "If it's something horrible, then you can nip this romance in the bud. Just ask. What's the worst that can happen?"

"He'll think I'm a stalker and never come back!" I replied.

Ryoko grinned mischievously.

"See? Then we can get you a date with his much hotter friend."

"_Ryoko-chan…!"_

My boss was not taking 'no' for an answer, and had already steered me towards the counter.

"Oh, come on, Shortcake-chan! Just get him his goodies, and ask!"

With that, she gave me one final shove, sending me reeling into their line of sight.

Both looked up. I was blushing something fiercely, but did my best to recover myself. I tried my hardest to smile.

"_Uh…um…hi!_ W-What can I get you today?" I stammered.

My beautiful, raven-haired crush, who had obviously been pondering his order for some time, pulled the thumb he had been nibbling thoughtfully out of his mouth.

"I'd like two Melon Breads, a glazed donut, a powdered sugar donut, a chocolate donut, a chocolate covered sprinkle donut, a Strawberry Daifuku cake, two Mont Blancs, an éclair, an Anko Bread, a cream puff, and three shortcakes."

He turned to his brown-haired companion.

"Would you like anything, Light-kun?"

"Uh, no thanks," he replied, smiling at me pleasantly, then turned back to his friend, frowning, and lowered his voice.

"Are you sure this is safe, coming here every day?"

The black-haired man looked up at him with his wide eyes, looking slightly confused.

"This is my favorite bakery. If I didn't come, how could I get my pastries?"

"Couldn't you send Watari instead?"

"I could," he mused quietly, turning his attention once more to the full cases, "But their offerings very. Some days they have cupcakes and cookies. Perhaps they might start carrying a new sweet that I want to try. There are too many variables for Watari to accurately guess what I'd like to eat every day. Besides…I like to look."

I didn't have time to fully listen or understand the conversation. I was too busy running around collecting and bagging his orders, and condensing them neatly into one large sack. I rang him up.

"Um…your total today will be 3300 yen."

My raven-haired crush fished a credit card out of his pocket and offered it to me, holding it by its corner in between his thumb and forefinger.

I took it, and swiped his card. As it was printing his receipt, I bit my lip. What Ryoko had said was repeating inside my head. And the truth was, I really, REALLY wanted to know his name. Just having something to call him made a romance seem more…attainable, somehow.

_Should I…? No. No! I'm too nervous. I'd sound like a moron._

I handed back his credit card and smiled my most warm, charming smile.

"I hope you have a wonderful day!"

His pale lips parted into the cutest little smile in the world.

"Thank you," he said softly, and they turned to leave.

And then I did an incredibly corny thing.

"_Uh…um…w-wait!"_ I yelped.

They turned. And suddenly I was hit full-on with his captivating, mysterious eyes, starring at me curiously from underneath his mass of jet black hair.

"I-I…um…was _wondering_…if…um…uh…" I stammered helplessly, my cheeks growing redder by the second. I was _so_ not good around guys, especially ones I found attractive.

He kept staring at me, and the worst possible way of asking him ripped itself out of my dry throat.

"_I've-been-watching-you-for-a-while-and-I-really-want-to-know-could-you-tell-me-your-name-please?"_

He blinked. I wanted to go bang my head against a brick wall, but I was so humiliated all I could do was stand there stupidly and blush.

After a few moments that felt like hours, his lips parted.

"1.8%"

It was my turn to blink. _Huh?_

Then suddenly, in one fluid motion, he reached over the counter and gently seized my wrist, pulling it towards him. I was so stunned I didn't even respond until I heard two soft metallic clicks. I looked down.

He had just handcuffed me to him.

Then, he began to walk towards the door, with me, shocked into senseless oblivion, being dragged behind him.

His brown-haired friend gaped at him.

Suddenly, the upset, bewildered voice of Ryoko rang out from behind us.

"_W-W-What the hell? _Hey! S-Stop!_ Let her go!"_

"This is a police matter now. Don't worry, I only want to ask her a few questions. If she is innocent, she will be returned to you unharmed."

His model friend appeared beside us. The surprise had worn off his face, and now he looked frustrated and irate.

"_Damn it, Ryuuzaki!"_ he hissed, "What the _hell_ are you _doing?"_

"Bringing in a Kira suspect for questioning, obviously," my crush replied, "Light-kun, would you go and get my sweets? You'll have to carry them for me."


	2. Involving Panic and Lots of Blushing

**A special thank-you to everyone who has read my story thus far! ^_^ Also, it has come to my attention I've been using Japanese honorfics, and not everyone might understand what those mean. So, briefly: "-san" is the equivilant of Miss So-and-So, Mrs. So-and-So, or Mr. So-and-So. It's a polite, formal way of adressing someone. "-chan" is used for female friends, or as a term of endearment towards a female. "-kun" is the same, except it is for male friends or as a term of endearment towards a male. I might use others later, but I'll post those when I do. Sorry for the confusion! ^_^'**

**Also, if you have any ideas or suggestions for this story, please feel free to post them in a review, or PM them to me! Reader input is an awesome thing~3**

**

* * *

**

One warm, sunny Sunday, just after 3 o'clock in the afternoon, when the streets were full of people enjoying the nice weather, a startling spectacle appeared. A gangling, hunched-over young man with a mop of black hair was drifting through the crowd, one hand handcuffed to a beet-red young woman in a frilly pink apron. Seemingly oblivious to everyone's stares, he led her along without even glancing behind, and the young lady followed helplessly, as if in a trance. Walking beside them was a gorgeous young man with brown hair, his perfect face screwed up in frustration, and glaring daggers at his black-haired companion.

Most who saw them merely wrote it off as some kind of prank, or the filming of a movie. A good number mistook it as a bizarre kidnapping, and began hurriedly phoning the police. The police, swamped with calls detailing a peculiar, bed-headed suspect and his drool-worthy, brown-haired accomplice, looked into a video feed to catch the perpetrator red-handed. But once the police chief, currently at work on a special Kira Task Force, recognized the strange kidnapper, he slapped the palm of his hand over his face, muttered a few choice cuss words, and told the police he'd take over from there.

Of course, I can only guess that's what happened. Because I was currently being pulled by handcuffs behind a gangling, hunched over young man with a mop of black hair. And even if anyone had _asked_ me if I was being kidnapped, I wouldn't have been able to answer. Mostly because I'm not sure I was even still breathing at that point.

For about ten minutes, I was too shocked and out of it to even think. Then, one thought popped into my head.

_This has to be a dream. _

More thoughts quickly followed.

_This is just a weird hallucination caused by too much sugar. I shouldn't have eaten that mocha ice cream before I went to bed last night. This is just a dream. There is __**no way**__ my luck is that bad._

Of course, then Life had to ruin my delusion by making me notice the painful grinding of the metal handcuff against my wrist. Pain couldn't be felt in dreams. So there went _that_ theory.

Then, the dam on my thoughts broke, and my brain began racing to process the situation.

_Ok. I asked his name, and he handcuffed me. Ryoko tried to stop him, and he said it was police business, and he needed to ask me some questions. Then, his friend asked what the heck he was doing, and he said he was bringing in a Kira suspect…_

_Oh, crap._

Kira. He thought I was Kira. I wasn't exactly sure of the correlation between awkwardly asking his name and being a psychotic criminal serial killer. Apparently, neither did his brunette friend, because he began arguing furiously with him in a low voice.

"This girl is _not_ who you think she is!"

"The chances _are_ slim," my crush – the other guy had called him Ryuuzaki, right? – replied, tugging me through another crowd of gawking people, who parted to let us through, "But there is still a chance. And because there is a chance, we can't afford to ignore her completely."

"_There is no chance,"_ the other young man hissed.

"That's not true, Light-kun," Ryuuzaki stated mater-of-factly, "She freely admitted she had been watching me, and asked my name. Those are two reasons to suspect her."

They kept on arguing, though it was starting to be apparent Ryuuzaki wasn't about to be swayed. I was only half-paying attention. I was too busy silently freaking out.

_Oh god. O-O-Oh god. I'm getting arrested. I'm getting arrested. I'm going to lose my job. I…I have enough money to pay next month's rent, right? Oh no. What if…what if they send me to jail? They can't do that just for asking a name, right? But if they think I'm Kira…then maybe they will make an exception. Oh god. What do I do? What do I __**do?**_

Thankfully, before I had time to start fully panicking, we had already reached our destination. Adding to my immense confusion, it wasn't the police station, like I was expecting. It was actually a very nice, very expensive-looking hotel.

Ryuuzaki tugged me along through the lobby, earning another round of gaping stares, down a hall, and into an elevator. The brown-haired Adonis he called "Light" stayed behind, presumably to keep the hotel staff from phoning Security.

Up we went, to the thirty-second floor. I stumbled behind him miserably, wondering what the heck kind of policeman arrests someone and takes them directly to a hotel. Suddenly, the door at the end of the hall burst open, and out came three men. One was older, at least in his late sixties, with light gray hair and a mustache. The next was a few decades younger, but taller, with dark brown hair streaked with gray. He, too, had a mustache. The third man only looked a tad older than Ryuuzaki and Light, and had shaggy black hair. All three wore different expressions; the older gentleman looked slightly concerned, the younger guy looked upset, and the middle-aged man looked _ticked._

"_Ryuuzaki!"_ he bellowed, glaring down at my hunched-over crush, "Explain yourself! _Now!"_

My attractive captor glanced up at the middle-aged man, frowning slightly. The older gentleman stepped forward.

"I think what Chief Yagami wants to know is why you have a young woman handcuffed to you," he informed him quietly.

"What were you _thinking?"_ the youngest man blurted out, "Everyone at the police station thought you were a kidnapper!"

Ryuuzaki's dark eyes widened.

"…a…kidnapper…?" he whispered, a note of shock in his voice.

"Well, what do you expect, parading down the street with a young girl handcuffed to you?" The Chief demanded angrily, "Do you have any idea the lengths we've had to go to…?"

The raven-haired young man interrupted him by raising his pointer finger to his pale lips.

"Chief Yagami, please keep your voice down. This is a hotel, and I'd prefer if we didn't get kicked out before the next scheduled rotation."

The middle-aged man's face flushed to a shade akin to my own, but not from embarrassment. His face twisted up in fury, he opened his mouth, and I could venture a guess that he wasn't going to whisper an apology.

Thankfully, the younger gentleman spoke up first.

"Are you alright, miss?" He asked hurriedly, crossing over to my side. I stared at him blankly for a little bit. Once I processed he was actually talking to me, I tried to say '_I'm fine_' but all that came out was a choked little squeak.

"…_eeeep_…."

Both the younger man and middle-aged man turned to glare at the handsome hunchback.

"What the hell did you do to her, Ryuuzaki-san?" the dark-haired young man demanded.

My crush's brow furrowed slightly.

"Nothing. She was acting normally at the bakery."

Without warning, he took a step closer, and I suddenly found myself mere millimeters from his face, his raven hair brushing against my forehead, his dark, mysterious eyes locked with my own.

"Your face is abnormally red. Are you feeling alright?" he asked, his warm breath against my face.

My skin flushed to a shade not thought humanly possible. I'm absolutely certain I stopped breathing at that point, because a few seconds after that…

_Thunk!_

…I fainted dead away.

* * *

The next thing I remember is waking up on a really soft, plushy bed. I would've been more than willing to write everything off as a dream, but two things prevented me. One, I wasn't wearing my glasses, which rendered my entire world a blurry mess of splotches of color. Two, moments after I woke up, a hazy figure entered the room.

"Are you feeling better, miss?"

The voice was familiar. Maybe the old man from the hallway?

"Um…yes…I think," I replied unconvincingly, sitting up. I couldn't help it. I wasn't even convinced myself, without my glasses. I reached for the brown-shaped blotch that I assumed was a bedside table, and felt around until my fingers found thin metal. Sighing in relief, I pulled them on.

It _was_ the older gentleman from the hallway, and he was carrying a covered tray. He set the tray on the aforementioned bedside table, and removed the cover to reveal a tall glass of ice water and a mouth-watering strawberry parfait.

"I thought you might like something to restore your blood sugar," he said kindly.

"Oh! T-Thank you!" I managed, trying to scrounge up a smile. Apparently, it too was unconvincing, because it made the man look more worried, not less.

I took the silverware and spooned a strawberry into my mouth, which I basically swallowed whole. I wasn't even all that hungry. I was just eating to calm my nerves.

"Uh…sir?" I asked quietly.

"Yes?"

I swirled the whipped cream into the yogurt absentmindedly, my eyes trained on the floor.

"I…I-I'm not sure I know what's going on. The guy who handcuffed me…"

"Ryuuzaki?" he offered helpfully.

I nodded, and I was sure a tiny blush sprang to my cheeks as I said his name.

"Yeah…Ryuuzaki-san…um…is he a police officer or something?"

The older man chuckled. It wasn't unpleasant, or even mocking. In fact, it sounded kind of warm.

"In a manner of speaking, I suppose."

I took a huge bite of the parfait and gulped painfully.

"So does that mean…I'm under arrest?" I asked meekly.

He smiled kindly.

"No, you aren't under arrest. You're just here for questioning, and it won't be put on your permanent record. Judging from Light-san's account, I daresay there was a misunderstanding. But…"

The older gentleman continued, picking up the empty platter and replacing the lid, "…that is for you and Ryuuzaki to discus. For now, please stay in this room, and try to rest a little longer. If there is anything you need, please let me know."

"Thank you," I replied gratefully. I meant it. Just talking to him made me feel better. That, and knowing I wasn't going to jail. At least, not yet.

I wanted to ask his name, but seeing as how _**super-de-dooper**_ that turned out the last time I tried, I was understandably hesitant. But, I reasoned, he had already told me to let him know if I needed anything, and without a name, I couldn't really do that. So, bracing myself for the worst thing to possibly happen, I gulped, and asked.

"Um, sir? W-What's your name?"

Surprisingly, the room did not collapse on my head. No policeman kicked in my door, and _thank God almighty_ the old man did not whip out another pair of handcuffs.

"You may call me Watari," he replied softly. Opening the door, he gave me a slight bow, which I returned, "I hope you rest well, Shortcake-san."

Then he closed the door. For which I was grateful. Because if he had caught sight of the startling shade of cherry red I had just turned, I'm pretty sure he would've called 911. Or the Japanese equivalent.


	3. Involving Questions and Sugar Cubes

For the record, for the first eighteen years of my life, I didn't have a nickname. I didn't have a kid name, or a pet name, or a cutsie name. I wasn't "pumpkin" or "sweetie-pie" or "honey" or "lil' snicker-doo". My mom called me "Noel", my dad called me "Noel", my teachers called me "Noel", and, if I had _had _any close friends, they would've called me "Noel", too. At least, that's what I'm assuming.

Then, within four months of arriving in Japan, I got dubbed "Shortcake". And now, that damn nickname seems destined to follow me to the grave.

I can only guess that Ryuuzaki-san overheard a bit of my conversation with Ryoko, and informed the ENTIRE police team my name was "Shortcake". Because apparently, Life didn't think it was bad enough I just got arrested on suspicion of being a serial killer, dragged handcuffed through the crowded streets of Tokyo, and fainted in the hallway of a five-star hotel. Nope. My gorgeous crush had to think I was named after a pastry, as well.

This day just gets better and better.

For the next two hours or so, I sat on the hotel bed, listening as a chorus of voices argued in the next room. The walls left the words indistinguishable, but I could discern some of the voices. From what I could tell, everyone seemed to be yelling at Ryuuzaki. He answered each of them calmly, his voice never raising, or even sounding frustrated.

Still, I started feeling a little bad. I mean, they were yelling at him because of _me._

Yeah. He humiliates me in public, probably costs me my job, and I'm the one who feels guilty.

Ryoko-chan was right. Love _does_ hit you with a stupid stick.

At long last, the voices quieted, and finally ceased all together. Then, there was a light knock on my door. I quickly answered it.

It was Watari again, with the rest of the task force, including the other two I had seen, and Light, towering over me. Though, that wasn't much of a surprise. Most people tower over me.

"Shortcake-san, Ryuuzaki would like to speak with you now," he said, and then, casting a meaningful glance at the others, added, "…in _private."_

"Okay," I replied quietly, managing not to stutter. I followed behind the elderly man, keeping my eyes mainly on the floor. However, I couldn't help the looks the other men were giving me. They all looked remorseful, like they were sorry for what was going to happen to me.

_Fantastic._

Nothing inspires confidence quite like feeling you're a lamb being led to a slaughterhouse.

Watari led me down the hall, through a living area, past the kitchen, and down another hall.

_Holy heck, how many hotels HAVE suites this big?_

By the time we reached our destination, I was twirling the end of my braid so fast that if I had let go, I might have taken off like a toy helicopter. If I had been nervous before, my nerves were a total wreck now.

When Watari opened the door to let me in, I was seriously expecting to find a mirrored interrogation room with a metal table and chairs.

I wasn't expecting another bedroom.

It looked a lot like the one I had woken up in, although this one had signs that a person actually was staying there – a suitcase against the corner, clothes hanging in the closet, and candy wrappers on the bedside table. _Lots_ of candy wrappers.

Ryuuzaki was perched on an armchair, and I do mean "perched". He was balancing on the balls of his feet, his knees drawn to his chin. He had been typing on a laptop, but shut it immediately once I entered.

He looked up, his face quite nearly expressionless. I tried his eyes, but they were impossible to get a read on; I couldn't pick up any hint of emotion.

"Please, come in," he said simply, "Sit down."

I gulped, and walked stiffly over to the chair he had indicated, and sat down. He, however, kept on crouching. Ryuuzaki leaned over the coffee-table that separated us, pouring himself a cup of tea. He began adding sugar cubes.

"The others informed me I might have startled you earlier. That wasn't my intention, so I apologize."

Before I could say anything, he continued. Speaking, and adding sugar.

"I brought you here to answer some questions. Let's start with the reason you asked for my name."

He knew how to cut to the chase, I gave him that. I tried to think of a way I could answer honestly without sounding suspicious or creepy.

I nervously fiddled with my hair, my eyes dropping shyly.

"Well, I…you…y-you come to the bakery a lot, and…well…umm…I just thought it would be…you know…more polite…if I had s-something to…to call you."

There. Completely honest. Well, it would've been completely honest if I had added _Oh-by-the-way-I-wanted-a-name-to-match-to-your-GORGEOUS-face-and-to-possibly-in-the-future-ask-you-out_. But that would've gotten "Creepy Stalker Lady" tattooed to my forehead.

Ryuuzaki lifted a thumb lightly to his mouth, and kept on adding sugar. He had to have added at least eight cubes by then, I swear.

"Hmm," he said, "And where are you from? You're obviously not Japanese. Judging from your thick accent and tell-tale appearance, I'd say the United States."

Gee, thanks for reminding me I stick out like a sore thumb. Although I'd never been told I had a thick accent before. Yet another thing for me to be self-conscious about.

"Um, yeah, I _am_ from the United States. I'm from Wisconsin."

"Whis-con-sen," he repeated slowly, still staring, "And why did you come to Japan?"

"To…have a new life, I guess."

He paused in his sweetening ceremony, a flicker passing over his dark eyes.

"You have a criminal history in the United States?"

"_What? No!"_ I cried, sitting up even straighter, "I-I don't have a _criminal history!_ I never even got a parking ticket! It's just…"

Before I even could stop myself, the truth came out.

"…my parents wanted me to be a doctor, or a lawyer, or something like that, and I didn't want to be any of those things, but they were going to make me anyway, so I left."

Ryuuzaki nibbled on his thumb, and resumed adding sugar. He was going to run out of tea soon. I'm not even sure there was any tea _left._

"You ran away, then," he said.

I inwardly winced at his bluntness. Now that I thought about it, that sort of _was_ what had I had done. I hadn't been able to stand up to my parents, or defend myself. The truth was, I was a coward. And the truth _stung._

He added what had to be the _bazillionth_ sugar cube to his tea, and began to delicately slurp it. I'm reasonably sure he would've been better off just sprinkling the sugar bowl with a few drops of tea. And then, to my surprise, he started speaking in flawless English.

"_Since you wanted to know my name, I assume you have no trouble giving me yours?"_

He wanted to know my name. Just as information for a murder investigation, but my heart _still_ did a somersault.

"_N-Noel."_

He blinked. I blushed.

"_T-That's my name. Noel."_

His lips curled into a tiny smile.

"Nho-_L,"_ he repeated, a note of amusement in his voice, like there was some inside joke he wasn't telling me._"And your last name?"_

My heart promptly stopped its acrobatics and swan dived into my stomach. Most people wouldn't have a problem giving their last name. Probably because most American last names are like "Johnson" or "Brown" or "Smith". Mine wasn't.

I wanted to refuse, or even lie, but then I remembered that he thought I might be the incarnation of evil, and that he was working with the police. And either refusing or lying probably would end with me wearing an orange jumpsuit and playing the harmonica.

So I swallowed what little pride I had left at the moment, braced myself, and told him.

"Morrigan-Kjellershmitzberg."

For the second time that day, someone starred at me like I had stripped naked and done the Can-Can. And this time it was the most beautiful man I'd even laid eyes on.

"What?" he asked, switching back to Japanese, probably out of pure shock.

Why my mother couldn't have just sucked it up and taken my Norwegian father's last name, or, even better, my Norwegian father taken my mother's last name, I would never ever understand.

Damn whoever thought of hyphenated names! _DAMN THEM!_

"My full name," I said miserably, my face flushing even darker, "Is Noel Morrigan-Kjellershmitzberg."

If he had fallen off his chair laughing at that point, I wouldn't have blamed him. Instead, he just took another slurp of his tea.

"As there are few of us here, and, I suspect, the whole of Japan, who could actually pronounce that name, I will continue to refer to you as Shortcake-san."

_Dear Kira, if you really are a god of death, could you please give me a heart attack? I'd really like to die right now. 'Kay, thanks._

Much to my disappointment, my chest wasn't seized with gripping pains.

_Thanks for nothing, you big fat phony._

"Furthermore," he continued, "From our conversation, I have gathered you are timid individual who naturally tries to avoid confrontation and competition, and is highly indecisive. Unless you're an extraordinary actress or exceptionally passive-aggressive, which I doubt, you overall lack the self-confidence that Kira has shown. The chance you are indeed Kira has dropped to 0.9%."

Ryuuzaki finished his tea with a satisfied gulp, and set the empty tea cup back down on his saucer.

"Now," he said, completely oblivious to the fact he had just ripped apart my personality, "Watari has informed me you are a little confused. So let me explain. This is a task force formed to catch the serial killer known as 'Kira'. Right now, this hotel is serving as our base of operations. I serve as the leader of this task force. 'Ryuuzaki' is an alias."

His dark, entrancing eyes stared deeply into my own, as if trying to ascertain my character. I guess I passed, because, after an uncomfortably long silence, he told me.

"I am L."

I could tell from the way he said it I was supposed to have an immediate reaction to the name. But I didn't. I just sort of stared at him, with a stupid look plastered over my face, which he was probably beginning to think was my normal expression.

L? It sounded kind of familiar, but I was drawing a blank. Hurriedly, I began to wrack my brain.

_L….L…is he some sort of Japanese celebrity? No, that couldn't be it. Not a singer or pop star, either. Um…hmm. An author? No, no. I know I heard it recently…wait…!_

"Oh!" I cried as it struck me, "You…you were that guy on T.V.! After Lind L. Tailor died! The one that's after Kira!"

No duh, Sherlock. Thank you, thank you, give the girl a medal. My skin turned an even deeper shade of red. If my crush needed any more proof I was an idiot, he just got it.

"Correct, Shortcake-san," he said simply. He didn't seem offended, thank the lord. Though it wasn't as if he was really expressive.

Then a realization hit me like a ton of bricks. He had just told me a whole bunch of stuff that I sure as heck wasn't supposed to know. So either he was insanely trusting, which I kinda doubted, or…

Hoping I was wrong, I spoke up.

"B-But…uh…isn't that kind of dangerous? Revealing your identity to me and all?"

"Even on the slim 0.9% chance you _are_ Kira, you'd still need my real name to kill me. The rest of the information is only dangerous if it were leaked to the public, which, since you will be remaining with me for the rest of the investigation, will not happen."

Yep. There is was. Proof positive Life liked to merrily screw me.

"_WHAT?"_ I cried, pulling back so fast I nearly fell off my chair, _"You're arresting me?"_

L frowned slightly.

"No, you aren't under arrest. However, you know too much for me to allow you to wander around freely. Apparently, my actions caused somewhat of a stir downtown today, and the media would love to sensationalize the story. It would draw too much attention to our investigation. So you will remain here until Kira – or should I say the three Kiras – are brought to justice."

My eyes fell to the ground. Great. Now I was being held prisoner by the police. They'd been looking for Kira for months. Searching for a serial killer with god-like powers was not what you could really consider _easy._ I could be an old grandma before this case was done.

"That's why I've decided to hire you."

My head shot up. I was seriously expecting him to add "Just kidding" at any second. But he looked completely serious. I glanced at Watari, who was still standing beside us. He nodded.

"_Hire me?"_ I squeaked.

"Technically, we'd be leasing you. As my personal chef," he replied, placing his hands on his knees, "I've been meaning to hire one, but I haven't had the time to find someone suitable. Having the majority of my food prepared at headquarters by a single person is far safer and convenient. I've already instructed Watari to prepare the paperwork for your employer. The public is required to assist on police investigations, so they will be obligated to sign no matter what."

"B-But…but I'm _not…!"_ I tried.

"You can bake and prepare everything you serve at your bakery, can't you?"

"Well, yes, of course, but…"

"Are you adept at preparing ice cream and parfait dishes as well?" He asked.

"Yes, but…"

He leaned in closer. The familiar twinge of excitement he always displayed when he came into the bakery was starting to present itself.

"Pies? Cookies? Chocolate confections? Assorted glazes and frosting?"

"All those, yes, but…"

L stood up, stepped over the tea tray, and crouched down on the end of the coffee-table, leaning in so close I pulled back to keep from touching him.

"Cake?" He whispered.

In what was becoming an increasingly frequent habit, my cheeks flushed dark red. The breath vacated my lungs. I couldn't speak, so I just nodded.

He smiled his adorable little smile, a chorus of angels erupted into song, and my legs turned to jelly. I didn't matter I had been dragged there against my will. It didn't matter I'd be stuck inside a hotel until the apocalypse. All that mattered was that the man I had fallen for was inches away from me, and he was smiling.

That must have been some stupid stick I got hit with.

L pulled back enough so I could start breathing again, and turned to the elderly gentleman standing next to us.

"Excellent. You're hired. You'll receive the same salary you currently make, along with a substantial raise for the inconvenience. We'll cover room and board. Watari, please show Shortcake-san the kitchen, and make a list of the items she needs."

Before I even had time to protest – though, honestly, I don't think I would've been able to – there was a loud noise from outside. It sounded like a door being thrown open. Loud stomping and a few yells followed. Then, I heard an all-too-familiar female voice.

"_SHORTCAKE-CHAN! JUST HOLD ON! I'M COMING!"_

My boss had come to rescue me.


	4. Involving Fury, a Boss, and a Frying Pan

**Happy St. Valentine's Day, everybody! A big thank you to everyone who has read my humble lil' fanfic thus far, and a GIGANTIC thank you to those of you who have reviewed! Reviews are what keep me writing! ^_^This chapter is a bit shorter than most, so don't hate me! *hides* And guess what? The next chapter will actually have some serious parts in it! *Le gasp!* But not many...*wink***

**

* * *

**

It's a general rule of thumb my luck sucks. It's a fact of Life, and Life doesn't like me. So of course just as soon as L and I _started_ to sort things out, my boss had to throw open the bedroom door.

Ryoko looked like she had ran a mile; she was sweating and panting, and hadn't even pulled off her batter-splattered apron. In her hands was a thick metal pipe, and the look on her face said she'd shove it up the butt of anyone who tried to get in her way.

I was still in the armchair, and L was still crouching on the end of the coffee-table. But from directly behind us, where the door was, it looked like L was sitting _on top_ of me.

And she totally misinterpreted our close proximity.

She entered the room, readying her pipe, and looking like she was wielding the holy wrath of God himself.

"GET THE %$*&!# HELL OFF HER, YOU SICK ^$*&!# _BASTARD!"_ she roared.

Now, don't get me wrong. I adore everything about my crush, from his charming bed-headed haircut to his utterly cute posture. But he really doesn't look like much of a fighter. And when Ryoko gets ticked, all hell breaks loose.

It was going to be like watching a rhino steam-roll a baby panda.

And L was the baby panda.

I wasn't about to just sit there and let the massacre happen, so I quickly jumped to my feet, to A( show her I was okay, and B( prove that L was not trying to de-flower me. Last, I yelled her name as loud as I could.

"_RYOKO!"_

Distraction technique successful. She froze mid-stomp, her narrow eyes widening. She ran the last few steps and squished me against her, squeezing all the air from my lungs. Thankfully, she held her pipe out with her other hand to keep me from impaling myself.

"_Shortcake-chan!"_ she cried, "Oh, god, I was so worried! Are you hurt? Did they do anything to you? If they so much as touched you, I swear, _I'll rip out their…!"_

"_Ry-oko-chan,"_ I sputtered, _"Can't-breathe…!"_

She released me immediately, and I gasped in sweet air. Before I could recover, she had seized my wrist, and started dragging me towards the door.

"I'm gonna get you out of here first, don't you worry! _Then_ I'll come back and beat the snot out of them!"

Watari took that moment to intervene by stepping in front of us, his hands raised in a non-threatening manner.

"Please calm down, miss. There's just been a misunderstanding."

"Outta the way, old man," Ryoko growled.

L had climbed off the coffee-table by this point, and trudged over to us, wisely keeping some distance away from Ryoko's pipe.

"Ryoko Sohma," he said, looking slightly annoyed, "I understand your concern for Shortcake-san, but you are interfering with a police investigation."

"Like hell," she replied bluntly, "You aren't in uniform, you don't have a badge, and you're wandering around with three-foot long handcuffs in your back pocket. If you're a police officer, then I'm Princess Aiko."

I spoke up before the situation could spiral any more out of control.

"Ryoko-chan, he's telling the tru–"

Of course, I didn't even have time to finish before the situation got even worse.

"FREEZE!"

The other members of the task force were apparently still in shock from seeing a crazy apron-clad lady kicking down their dead-bolted door. Yes, Ryoko kicked down a dead-bolted door. How, I don't know. The only explanation I can think of is that she's the daughter of Superman and Wonder Woman. But it serves as further proof that Ryoko is not to be messed with.

Anyway, the youngest police officer, the one with shaggy black hair, must have come out of his comatose state first, because he was now standing in the doorway, pointing a gun at Ryoko.

This was without a doubt the _weirdest_ day I'd ever had.

Ryoko didn't even blink. She merely glanced at his gun, then at him.

"Put that thing away before you hurt yourself, kid," she said dryly.

You know how I said before she could run the Mafia? Yeah.

The guy just kind of stared at her like a deer in the headlights. That was obviously not the response he had been expecting.

"You're making things worse, Matsuda-san," L said, sounding weary, "You waving around a gun won't defuse the situation."

He paused, then added.

"…even if you _still_ have the safety on."

Matsuda glanced down at the weapon, and, seeing my crush was absolutely right, his skin flushed in embarrassment.

The bed-headed, hunched over young man continued.

"I suggest you take Ryoko-san's advice and put your gun away before you hurt yourself."

Now that he was good and utterly humiliated, Matsuda turned bright red, and sheepishly slid the weapon back into its holster. And he managed to do it without blowing off his foot.

* * *

The next hour was spent explaining everything to Ryoko. Well, there was some lying involved, too. Actually, come to think of it, it was mostly lying, with a bit of explanation thrown in for good measure. First off, L was 'Ryuuzaki' again, and he and the task force were working on an illegal weapon trade case. He had mistaken me for a similar-looking suspect, and, when I asked his name, thought that his cover had been compromised, and I was brought back for questioning. However, since we had been spotted together, there was a good chance that my life was now in danger from the illegal-weapon-trade people. So I had to stay in protective custody until the case was finished, but would be employed as Ryuuzaki's personal chef to avoid extra suspicion.

Well, I think that was the gist of it. I kind of lost track half-way through. I was too busy watching my crush. He was crouching down on the armchair again, and he was wiggling his toes as he talked. I'd really never found feet a big turn-on, but his toes were just _adorable._ He also prepared another cup of tea, and I'm fairly sure he converted it into a simple syrup before he started slurping again. Which, by the way, I also found cute.

L made it all sound very convincing, but Ryoko is pretty darn sharp, and started throwing suspicious glances at me, silently asking if that was the truth or not.

I just kept nodding, and backing him up. I felt really bad about lying to Ryoko, but it was the only way. If I had told her the truth, she would've ended up in "protective custody" as well. Actually, in all honesty, if she had learned the task force was actually trying to find the psycho killer Kira, who had a nasty habit of offing people he didn't like, she probably would've thrown me over her shoulder, ran to the airport, and put me on the first flight out of Japan.

So, yeah. Lying was the best option.

Anyway, when it came time for Ryoko to sign the paperwork, which leased me out until further notice, she looked back at me.

"You sure about this, Shortcake-chan? I mean, I know he's gonna pay you three times what you make at the bakery, but…you really want to be stuck in a hotel for months?"

The truth was, I didn't. I wasn't sure how anything would work out. I was nervous, and even a little scared. But…I didn't have a lot of choice, and well…if I was going to be stuck inside with the most beautiful man I'd ever laid eyes on, I was going to make the most of it.

Forget stupid stick. Love must have wacked me with a _moron_ stick.

"I'm sure," I replied, giving her my best smile, "It's only for a little while. I'll be okay."

Ryoko didn't look fully convinced, but finally sighed.

"Well…okay. But I'm laying down some conditions before I sign anything."

L gazed at her with his dark eyes, but his face remained expressionless.

"What are your conditions, Ryoko-san?"

"First," she said firmly, "Shortcake-chan gets to call me whenever she wants to. I don't care if it's a private line or whatever, but you've got to promise she can talk to me whenever she feels like it."

My crush's brow furrowed.

"I can't…"

"I'm not finished," my boss interrupted, glaring at him, "Second, I get to visit her. You can schedule the visits, but I get to visit her at least once a week. And third…"

She leaned over, but not nearly as close as L had been to me. There was a look of dead-seriousness in her eyes.

"If you make her cry, I'm going to de-man you with a frying pan. Got it, Ryuuzaki?"

That last one wasn't so much a condition as a death threat. Or, to a guy, it might as well have been.

"_R-Ryoko-chan!"_ I gasped, blushing.

Her eyes didn't leave his face, which, I noticed, seemed a little more pale than normal.

"Just giving him fair warning, Shortcake-chan," she replied.


	5. Involving Creme Brulee and Concussions

**Hey everyone~! Hope you had a great Valentine's Day! Over the aforementioned V-Day, I drew a picture of Shortcake-chan, which I colored and posted on DeviantArt. For those of you who'd like to see her in all her blushing glory, I've posted a link in my profile. I'd love to hear your feedback!**

**I was really touched by the amount of reviews I received on that last chapter, so I wrote this one as fast as I could! Thank you so much for all your wonderful support! I hope you enjoy this chapter too!**

* * *

It's amazing how much can happen in a day. You wouldn't think a twenty-four hour period could matter that much, but you'd be wrong. In a single day, your life can be completely changed. You could win the lottery, become a parent, get elected president…or you could get accused of being a serial killer and confined to a five-star hotel with your crush.

One of those happened to me. And I'll give you a hint; it sure as heck wasn't getting elected president.

After a generous amount of arguing and threatening, Ryoko, as expected, got her way. She'd get to visit me once a week, and I received a separate phone line specifically to call her. She even got to go to my apartment and pack up a suitcase for me. Which, as I found out, was a lucky thing, because it turned out that that Kira Task Force's headquarters rotated hotels periodically, and the next day was moving day. So the next day, bright and early (actually it was 4:30, so technically it was dark and early), Watari knocked on my door and politely told me to get my hinny out of bed.

I've always considered myself a morning person. I wake up at 7:15 am each day like clockwork. But you know what? Four-thirty is _soooooo _not seven-fifteen.

I don't even remember anything that happened. I just know that at 7:15, I found myself in a completely different bedroom in a completely different hotel suite in a completely different hotel. I must have dressed myself and slept-walked the rest of the way. Either that, or Watari dressed me, threw me into a car, and wheeled me into my new room on a luggage trolley. Since my sweater was on inside-out , I'm tending towards the former.

After taking a quick shower, (and adjusting my sweater right-side in), I peeked outside my door. I was in another ridiculously large hotel suite. The lights were on, but there was no sign of any other task force members.

I bit my lip nervously. Probably 'cause I was nervous.

You see, I had no idea what I was supposed to do, or even what my new job entailed. I didn't know what time I was supposed to be up by, what I was supposed to wear, where I was supposed to go, or even what I was supposed to make once I got there. Part of me wanted to go find out the answers to all my questions, and part of me thought it would be a wiser idea just to stay in my room until someone came and got me.

_Be bold,_ I thought to myself, _After all, for the next few months, this is going to be my home. And I'll be darned if I can't go and explore my own home!_

So I took a deep breath, grabbed the door handle, threw open the door…

…then quickly closed it and waited for someone to come get me.

Oh, come on. If you'll recall, being bold is what got me into this mess in the first place. I didn't want to end up blindfolded and handcuffed to my sink, _thank you very much._

I didn't have to wait very long. A few minutes past nine, there was a knock on my door. I answered it to find Watari.

"Good morning, Shortcake-san," he said, "I hope I didn't wake you."

"Oh, no, you didn't," I assured.

He smiled.

"Good. Shall we then?"

He led me to the kitchen. Like everything else, the kitchen was huge. I swear most catering companies don't have kitchens that big. And it was stocked to the bursting point. The fridge was full of fresh fruit, eggs, and dairy. The pantry shelves were lined with every kind of chocolate and flavor extract I could think of, as well as several 25-kilogram bags of flour and sugar.

As I gaped at everything (I'm pretty sure I almost tripped over my jaw), I noticed something strange. It wasn't just strange, actually. It was incredibly bizarre.

There was a complete and utter lack of savory ingredients whatsoever.

"I'm afraid that because of Ryoko-san's visit yesterday, I didn't get to make a proper list of the ingredients you required," Watari said, "So if I've missed anything you need, I can send someone to fetch it right away."

It took a couple seconds to crank my jaw back into place so I could reply.

"I-I…no, you…I think I've got everything…but…umm…"

The older gentleman raised an eyebrow.

I swallowed, and forced it out.

"…with these ingredients, the only things I can make are desserts. Won't L-san be upset?"

Watari stared at me for a moment, and burst out laughing. Apparently, there was some kind of memo I had missed.

When he had finished, he was kind enough to let me in on the reason.

"Ah…he didn't tell you, it seems," he chuckled, "L all but refuses to eat anything but sweets."

Well, gee. That sure answered a lot of questions. Like why he had hired a pastry chef to be his personal cook. Of course, it raised a whole bunch too.

"Um…why?" I asked meekly.

Watari proceeded to explain. Basically, the brain uses the most calories of any other part of the body. You use your brain enough, and you burn up all the calories you ingest without lifting a finger. Which meant that my super-genius crush needed a _whole lotta_ calories.

"Soooo…" I said slowly, looking at the mounds of dessert ingredients, "He only likes sweet things. Is there…a list or something he wants me to make, or…?"

Watari smiled warmly, and shook his head.

"No, nothing of that sort. He'll enjoy any dessert you serve him."

"How about mealtimes?" I asked, "Is there a certain time he…?"

Again, he shook his head.

"L tends to eat throughout the day, to keep his energy level steady. Though it may be best to keep something on hand at all times, especially before you retire for the evening."

I grasped at straws. I just needed some kind of rule or definition.

"Is there anything he doesn't like?" I asked exasperatedly, "Any food allergies? Preferences?"

The man chuckled again, and I knew I was toast.

"As long as it has enough sugar in it, he'll eat it. Let me know if you need anything, Shortcake-san."

And with that, he exited the kitchen, leaving me hopelessly and utterly dumbfounded. Because I had just found out that my new "job" was to make whatever I wanted to make, basically whenever I wanted to make it.

I don't even know if you could consider something that vague a job. Heck, I don't know if you could even consider something that vague a _hobby._

Don't get me wrong, that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. I mean, most chefs would KILL for that kind of freedom. It was just that, while there weren't any rules, schedules, or restrictions, there also didn't seem to be any preferences, either. And that, to me, was a major disappointment.

How was I supposed to make something special for someone who didn't even care what you were serving them?

"But that…isn't quite true," I realized aloud.

Every single time he had trudged into the bakery, I'd seen his dark eye brighten as soon as they saw all the delights in the case, and he'd usually end up ordering one – or several – of everything.

So it wasn't that he didn't care…it was just that he liked _everything._

It's a bit strange, but, in spite of my insecurity, my shyness, and my lack of competitive spirit, I'm actually quite a perfectionist when it comes to my cooking. So I just did what came naturally.

I set my jaw in determination, rolled up my sleeves, and decided right then and there that my goal for the rest of my confinement was to find out exactly what his favorites were. Because before the end, I was going to make him the most delicious thing he'd ever tasted in his life.

My only limitation? Sugar.

Lots of it.

* * *

I was dead-set on making a good impression on my raven-haired crush, so I pulled out all the stops. First, I made cherry pie, spice cake, and chocolate-chip cookies. While those were in the oven, I whipped up a coffee cheesecake and vanilla custard. For round two, I showed off my frosting skills with a batch of cream cheese icing, which I used to frost the spice cake. After drizzling hazelnut-spiked chocolate over the cheesecake, I sprinkled sugar over the custard and took a blow torch to it, turning it into a beautiful crème brulee.

Yes, the kitchen had a blow torch. A small culinary one, but still. Why they'd entrust a flaming weapon of doom to someone who might be Kira is beyond me.

But anyway.

By the time I was finished, it was half-past one o' clock, and I looked as if I had been involved in a paintball fight. I had splatters of every color and viscosity all over my apron, and had somehow gotten cream cheese frosting in my ear. But it was worth it. I had five beautiful dishes, and was pretty confident they'd taste just as good as they looked.

"It's obvious L made the right decision. Everything looks delicious," said a kind voice.

I whirled around to find Watari standing in the doorway. I hadn't even noticed him there, or heard footsteps. I didn't even know old men could _be_ that stealthy.

"Thank you so much!" I replied quickly, smiling at the compliment, "Do you think this will be enough?"

The older gentleman glanced again at all the sweets.

"Yes, I think it will do for today."

I was actually trying to make a joke, because there was so much food. Yet his reply sounded completely serious. But there was no way one person – _even if_ they only ate sweets – could eat a whole pie, two cakes, custard, and an entire batch of cookies in one day, right?

"You've been working quite hard," he continued, "You should take a break."

"That sounds great, but, um…"

I glanced unhappily over at the sinks, which were overflowing with dirty dishes.

"…I better finish cleaning first. The kitchen's kind of a mess right now."

"No need to worry about that, Shortcake-san. I'll take care of it," Watari insisted, "Go wash up and take some time for yourself."

He wouldn't take "no" for an answer, and forcefully shooed me out of the kitchen. I did as I was told, and retreated back to my room to clean the dough out from under my fingernails. After another quick shower and a change of clothes, I emerged, and went to check on Watari. I felt bad saddling him with all my dishes AND that mess of a kitchen. The least I could do was help clean…

I froze.

I had only been gone about thirty minutes, and the kitchen was now spotless. Not a dish in the sink, not a crumb on the counters. And the freakiest part? Not a speck of flour on Watari.

There is only one logical conclusion.

Watari is a wizard.

He must have waited until I'd left, pulled out his magic wand, and let the alakazams fly. That's probably how he stocked my kitchen, too.

I made a mental note not to ever get on Watari's bad side. I didn't want to end up with slimy green skin and a hankering for insects.

Before I could ask if he had taught at Hogwarts, I heard soft footsteps beside me.

It was L. Apparently, he had finished off his box of Hello Panda cookies and come to find something else to snack on, when he caught sight of all the desserts I had made. Watari (God bless that benevolent wizard) had arranged them on the table so perfectly that if a ray of angelic light had fallen on them, I wouldn't have been surprised.

L looked like he had just found Wonka's last Golden Ticket.

And I felt like I had just won the lottery.

He stared at the goodies for a full minute, and might have never come out of his trance at all, had it not been for Watari, who finally spoke up.

"I can see you're eager to sample Shortcake-san's hard work," he said, smiling, "Why don't you two retire to the lounge? I'll make some tea to bring out with the sweets."

L frowned. He looked a little conflicted. I think he would've rather grabbed something and kept working, but eventually, his sweet tooth won out, and he headed (rather quickly, I might add) towards the lounge. I followed after him.

Neither of us said anything for a while, but this time, I was kind of alright with that. Mostly because I kept replaying the picture of him looking awestruck over and over again in my head. I was so happy that he had been pleased I could have burst into tears of joy. And he had looked so freaking _cute…! _

I must've been grinning like an idiot, because L glanced back at me and slowly said, "Judging by your expression, I assume you enjoy working here so far?"

I blushed. Big surprise, right?

"Errr…yeah. It's fun. I've…uh…never gotten a kitchen that big all to myself. And I've never had a job where I could make whatever I wanted…"

Realizing that I was babbling, I ended hurriedly. And awkwardly. 'Cause those two seem to go hand in hand.

"…s-so…um…yeah."

At that point, Life must have decided I was enjoying myself too much, because the next thing out of his beautiful pale lips was,

"You've improved a great deal since this morning."

Looking back, I should've just kept my trap shut. I knew – _KNEW _– that I wouldn't want to know. But I couldn't keep the words from spewing out.

"W-What do you mean?"

He looked at me, as if mildly surprised I didn't know.

"You lost consciousness again on the way to this hotel. I had to carry you to your bedroom."

_Carry me?_

My face got so hot you could've cooked an egg on it. My muscles seized up. I couldn't even open my mouth, let alone try to form an apology.

But he wasn't done yet.

L paused, and turned to face me. His enthralling dark eyes stared out at me from behind his untidy raven hair. A flicker of some subtle emotion crossed his gorgeous face.

"You should let either Watari or I know if your head begins to hurt, Shortcake-san, in the slight chance of a concussion. I accidentally dropped you in the elevator. You're surprisingly heavy for your short stature."

_Dear. Sweet. God._

Life? I hate you.


	6. Involving Pigtails and Insomnia

**Greetings, my dear, sweet readers! I'm so overwhelmed by the response my humble little fanfic has gotten! There's even FANART for this story, thanks to FallenOtaku (a.k.a. MissingMyMind) XD! I've posted the link to see her beautiful picture on my profile, along with the link to my picture of Shortcake-chan (I don't think mine's as cute). Anyway, thanks so much for the reviews! They are what inspire me to write faster! And as always, enjoy~!**

**

* * *

**

I shouldn't have to tell you how embarrassed and miserable I was the rest of the day. I mean, it was bad enough that he had basically called me "short and fat", but I could've handled _just_ that. I was rapidly growing used to being consistently humiliated. But the fact that L had had to carry me out of the car, into the hotel elevator, down the hall, and into the bedroom made me feel really, _really _guilty.

I'm not slender; I'm skinny. My body shape is somewhere in the toothpick range. And I swear L can't weigh much more than me. Plus, he's about a head and a half taller.

So I can't believe he only dropped me _once._

I wish he would've just woken me up. Why didn't he just wake me up, instead of go through all that work? I couldn't figure it out.

But the guilt that he _had_ gnawed on me more and more, until, that night, I decided on a way to pay him back; from then on, I was going to make sure the kitchen was so stuffed full of sweets he'd never have to touch another packaged cookie.

That ended up being a little more difficult than I had thought. Because when I woke up the next morning, all that was left of the previous day's desserts was a slice of coffee-cheesecake and two chocolate chip cookies. Which disappeared a half-hour later.

Over the next two days, I adjusted to my new life rather quickly. It was kinda fun to live in a hotel, like some kind of weird vacation. Watari and I got along great; he was like the awesome wizard Grandpa I'd never had. It was obvious he cared about L like he was his own, and I think some of that affection got transferred to me. The older gentleman was always encouraging me to go relax, making me tea, and magically cleaning my kitchen when I wasn't looking. Once, he even reminded me to brush my teeth before I went to bed.

The rest of the Kira Task Force members were polite, but rarely spoke to me, probably because I was just a civilian. The only one I actually talked with was Light. Because of his perfect face and all the female attention he got (his cell phone rang non-stop, I swear), I expected him to be kind of a stuck-up jerk. But he was actually a pretty nice guy. He even let me know he was a Kira suspect too, and told me not to let L get to me.

Oh, if only he knew.

My crush was just about the only thing on my mind. The adorable way he nibbled his thumb while he was thinking. The cute way he perched on chairs instead of sitting in them. His glittering obsidian eyes, his soft, delicate voice, his sweet smile…

I'd never ever had a crush that bad. Never. I couldn't get L out of my head. And it was driving me absolutely _bonkers._

However, my constant obsessing over him led me to notice something. As the days passed, L seemed to grow paler than usual, and the dark bags under his eyes grew even more pronounced. He suddenly developed a taste for sugary energy drinks, and, perhaps weirdest of all, his appetite skyrocketed.

No matter how long I baked, how much I baked, I could barely keep anything in the kitchen. Batches of cookies disappeared from the cooling rack. Gallons of ice cream vanished without a trace. He even ate an entire two –layer, buttercream-frosted cake in an hour. I kid you not; that thing was gone – _poof_ – in sixty minutes.

Determined to keep him happy at any cost, I started working even harder and longer to compensate. Which is why, Friday night, I was still in the kitchen, putting the glaze on a particularly large lemon chiffon cake.

I'm sure I was wincing something awful at that point in time. Feet just weren't meant to stand on tile twelve hours a day. Not that anyone was forcing me to, aside from myself. And by now, I'm sure we can all agree that I am an idiot.

"Is anything the matter, Shortcake-chan?"

I jumped and whirled around towards the voice. Watari had once again snuck silently into my kitchen, and was gazing at me in concern.

I've given up my theory he's just a wizard. No wizard is that stealthy. Nope.

Watari is a _ninja_ wizard.

Anyways, I knew he had caught me nursing my poor feet, and if I told him the truth, he'd have locked me in my room for the next few days to recuperate. Which meant I wouldn't be able to make desserts for L. So I decided to change the subject.

"Um…have you noticed that something seems wrong with L-san?"

Watari raised an eyebrow, so I decided to elaborate.

"He's been looking kind of pale…like he's coming down with something. But he's been eating more than usual…"

Something passed over the elderly gentleman's face. There was some kind of insight hidden in his eyes.

"Ah, yes. I suppose it is about time again, isn't it…?" He mused quietly.

I waited a few minutes for him to explain, but he never did. He was definitely lost in thought. So, finally, I spoke up.

"Um…Watari-san?"

He snapped out of it, and simply smiled at me.

"Nevermind. But I really should apologize. You've had a very hard week because of us, and yet you work your very hardest on L's behalf. We're truly lucky to have found you, Shortcake-chan."

The compliment made me beam.

"I don't know about that…" I murmured shyly.

"It's true," Watari assured, then switched to fathering mode, "Though I do worry you're working yourself too hard. You've done enough today. I'll finish up the kitchen. Go take some time for yourself."

I opened my mouth to protest, but gave up on it. I'd never won a single argument I had with Watari. Actually, come to think of it, I don't think I've seen ANYONE win an argument with Watari. He must have some kind of argument-winning-charm. Cheater.

As I put the lemon chiffon cake over on the table, I realized that L hadn't gotten a snack in hours. Which, seeing as he had been coming to the kitchen to get something every ten minutes before, was really weird.

_Maybe he's just really wrapped up in his work right now,_ I thought.

Whatever the case, I decided to bring him some cake, and cut him a large slice of the lemon chiffon giant I had just finished. As I was leaving the kitchen, I noticed Watari glance at me and chuckle. It wasn't a _Oh, that girl!_ kind of chuckle. It could only be taken as an _Ah, young love!_ kind of chuckle.

He'd already figured it out.

Watari is one smart ninja-wizard.

Embarassed, I hurried away from the kitchen and towards where L and the rest of the Kira Task Force were working. However, I didn't get far. The door to the hotel suite flew open, nearly squishing me into the wall.

"GUESS WHAT, EVERYONE? _MISA-MISA'S BAAAAAAACK~!"_ a loud female voice sang out.

Suddenly, I found myself face-to-face with another girl.

She was blond with pigtails, and had large brown eyes. She was wearing a form-fitting, black, gothic Lolita-type dress. She had makeup on, but even without it, it was obvious she would still be drop-dead gorgeous.

And the worst part?

She had boobs.

I was so totally _screwed. _

If it came down to a competition between this new girl and me, it wasn't even a contest. She made me look like a twelve-year-old _boy._

I took that moment to _pray to God _that this beautiful girl had no romantic interest in my crush. Because if she did? I was toast.

She starred at me for a few moments, looking bewildered. Then her pretty brow furrowed.

"Heeeeeeeeey…" she said slowly, "Who is this _girl?"_

Matsuda, who had been walking down the hall, was kind enough to introduce me.

"Oh! Uh, Misa-san, this is Shortcake-san. Shortcake-san, this is Misa Amane. She's…"

"...Misa-Misa is Light-kun's girlfriend," the girl interrupted.

Good lord. Not only did the girl have a cutesy nickname, but she spoke in third person. Boy, did I feel sorry for Light.

Wait…Light? She was _Light's_ girlfriend?

A heavenly chorus resounded in my ears. Apparently, God was feeling pretty darn merciful.

I smiled warmly, and gave a slight bow.

Misa didn't respond. She just stood there with a pout on her lips, like my presence had somehow soured her mood. When I finally couldn't stand the awkward silence any longer – much less her glare – I managed to slip around her.

"W-Well…uh…it was nice to meet you, Misa-san," I said meekly, and hurriedly escaped down the hall, leaving Matsuda to deal with her.

Most of the task force was on one side of the room, talking to one another, and busily typing. L was in the far corner, perched precariously on his office chair, staring at his computer screen.

I nervously edged closer to him until I was about a foot away, and gulped. Whenever I talked to my crush, I ended up sounding like a total moron. I hoped this time would be different.

"Um…_errrr_…L-san…?"

Well, _that_ sure was a promising start.

I swallowed, and continued.

"…I-I…I noticed you hadn't gotten anything to eat in a while, so I brought you some cake."

He didn't reply. He didn't even blink.

_He must've not heard me,_ I thought.

I inched forward a little more.

"L-san?"

Nope. Nada.

_Sheesh, he must be REALLY consumed in thought!_

"L-san…?" I asked softly, gently putting my hand on his shoulder.

That was all it took. Because no sooner did my fingers touch him, he toppled out of his chair, and crashed limply to the floor.

_Oh my god, I've KILLED him!_

I let out a shriek so loud and high the hotel probably had to replace all its windows. I was in such a state I dropped the cake, stumbled backwards, tripped over my own foot, and fell squarely on my rump. All the while I kept on screaming.

"_RYUUZAKI!"_ a chorus of voices cried.

In an instant, the Kira Task Force was around us. Chief Yagami quickly knelt beside L, feeling for a pulse. He must have found one rather quickly, because he sighed in relief, and nodded to the others, all of whom relaxed.

Not me. Panic had taken a firm hold on my brain, and it just didn't process that L was still alive. So I just kept on screaming like a banshee until I ran completely out of air, and began squeaking miserably in a futile attempt to scream with empty lungs.

I would've passed out again, had it not been for an unlikely savior. Whether out of concern, or out of the desire to save his eardrums, Light Yagami crouched down beside me.

"Shortcake-san, it's okay," he said hastily, "He's alive. He's still alive. Just breathe."

His assurance somehow switched off the panic button in my head, because I gasped, and refilled my lungs. After letting me recover a bit, Light helped me to my feet.

"It isn't your fault," he continued, throwing an annoyed glance at L, who was still sprawled out unconsciously on the floor, "This isn't the first time this has happened. That damn idiot...why can't he just sleep in a bed like a normal _person?"_

Watari and another task force member draped L's arms over their shoulders, and began carrying him towards his bedroom. As they disappeared down the hallway, I caught sight of Misa standing not far from the door. And I'm guessing she did not like how nice Light had been to me.

Because the look on her face suggested she wanted to choke me to death with my own entrails.


	7. Involving Nightmares and a NinjaWizard

**Hey guys! Guess what? There are actually some serious parts in this chapter! *le gasp!* I know, right? Anyhoo, thank you thank you THANK YOU for all your wonderful reviews! Nothing beats the knowledge people are actually enjoying your fanfic! That's probably why I've been writing so fast… ^_^' **

**Oh, and a quick re-cap: ****"-san" is the equivilant of Miss So-and-So, Mrs. So-and-So, or Mr. So-and-So. It's a polite, formal way of addressing someone. "-chan" is used for female friends, or as a term of endearment towards a female. "-kun" is the same, except it is for male friends or as a term of endearment towards a male.**

**Enjoy~!**

* * *

After Watari had put L into bed, he dismissed the rest of the Kira Task Force for the evening. Everyone went without much complaint. Even Misa left, though I noticed that she seemed to be super-glued onto Light's arm. She glared at me like a rabid cat when they walked by, as if she thought I'd try to steal Light right out from under her. Honestly, I don't think I could've pulled him away with a crowbar, not that I wanted to.

Sorry, Light-san. You're on your own with _that _one.

Once everyone was gone, Watari's stoic expression gave way to one of worry, and he sighed deeply. The fact _he_ looked worried made me worry even more.

"Watari-san? Is…something wrong with L-san?" I asked anxiously.

He glanced down the halls, as if to make sure everyone was gone, before replying.

"As the others might have told you, L is an insomniac. He typically gets only two to three hours of sleep per night, and usually it is sitting in front of a computer with his eyes open."

Well, gee, that would've been nice to know. It would've kept me from, say, thinking I'd _killed _him.

"However," Watari continued wearily, "His lack of sleep and unhealthy diet puts so much strain on his body, that every so often, it will simply give out from exhaustion. That forces L to actually rest, and let his body fully recover, before he runs it through the mill again."

I took a few moments to process that, and then it dawned on me.

"So…L-san knew he was going to collapse?"

"Yes, I'm certain he's known it was coming for some time. All the extra sugar he's been consuming, as well as those energy drinks, has staved it off a few extra days, but he couldn't hold out forever."

The older gentleman gazed toward L's bedroom door.

"This time seems even worse than usual. This case has been more difficult on him than he lets on."

Watari sighed again, shook his head, and turned to me.

"Shortcake-chan, I'm afraid I'll have to ask you a favor."

"Oh, sure! Anything!" I said quickly. That was probably a mistake. Knowing my luck, he'd end up asking for my kidney or something.

Thankfully, he didn't.

"I have to run a quick errand, and I need you to watch over L while I'm gone."

_Ha!_ Like that was a _favor!_ I'd been starring at the gorgeous man for the better part of the week! What "favor" was he going to ask me for next? To eat chocolate and read Manga?

"I'd rather you stay close to him. His sleep is generally – _troubled _– after one of these episodes," Watari continued, putting on his hat. He opened the front door, and regarded me firmly, "And make sure he stays in bed. He'll want to return to work immediately, but he _needs_ to rest."

I set my jaw in determination, and nodded.

His face softened into a warm smile.

"Thank you, Shortcake-chan," he said quietly, "I'll be back shortly."

And with that, Watari left. No sooner did the door close than I hurried to L's bedroom and peeked inside.

My crush was lying in the bed, his raven locks peeking out from under the covers. Weirdly enough, the lights were still on. I went to switch them off, but hesitated. Perhaps they were left on for a reason. I decided to leave the lights on just in case.

Remembering what Watari had said about staying close by, I tiptoed into the room, and sat in an adjacent armchair. Okay, so that wasn't the only reason. I wanted to watch him sleep. I'd never seen L asleep before. And seeing him, for once, not totally aware of everything was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity I just couldn't pass up.

He was sleeping on his back, only his head visible from underneath the blankets. His eyes, which had been open before, had fully slid shut. The comforter rose and fell with each soft breath. But what really got me was his face.

An expression of complete serenity was spread over his handsome visage. It stuck me that I had never seen L look at peace before. Not even at peace…I'd never even seen him look _content _before. But looking at his job, I guess that made sense. I mean, he had solved crimes all over the world. Sometimes I couldn't even watch the _news_ and feel content.

Peace was hard to feel, when you knew the world was a rotten place.

I was pulled out of my melancholy when L rolled over, turning towards me. He curled in on himself, pulling the covers up to his chin. He murmured sleepily.

I nearly squealed from the sheer cuteness of it.

I couldn't believe my good luck. Here I was, alone with possibly the most gorgeous man on earth, being able to watch him sleep…my chair pulled right up to his bed…

Less than a foot away.

In L's bedroom.

With L.

Alone.

Whoever said "Ignorance is Bliss" was one smart cookie, let me tell you. 'Cause the realization that I was, indeed, less than a foot away from him, in his bedroom, _alone,_ made my heart belly-flop into my stomach. My face flushed deep pink.

If ignorance is bliss, then awareness is misery.

What had seemed a simple, pleasing task mere moments before now made my knees knock together. I could already feel sweat forming on my skin.

L and I had never truly been alone. Not once. Even at night, Watari was always there. But now the ninja-wizard was gone, and I was left completely and utterly alone with my crush.

Heck, I could barely string together two competent sentences in his presence. And now I was alone with him in his _bedroom? _What the hell was he going to think when he woke up and found me starring at him? While I was blushing? _And sweating?_

Oh god.

_Escape. I need to escape. Right now. Right. __**Now.**_

Remember how Life hates me? That it's always trying to screw me? Yes? Good.

Then it will come as no surprise whatsoever to you that L took that moment to start waking up.

His brow furrowed, his hands tightening around the covers. He began shifting uncomfortably under the blankets.

This was my last chance for escape, and I knew it. But I was so scared-stiff I couldn't move. I couldn't even wiggle my toes. Only one word kept repeating itself in my head.

_Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap…_

His shifting became thrashing. His eyes were roving restlessly beneath his closed lids.

_CRAP…!_

Then he did something I was not expecting in the least.

L bolted straight up in bed, his eyes flying open, and screamed.

"!"

The sheer shock of it knocked me out of my chair and onto the floor. I don't know how I recovered so darn quickly, but I was on my feet in an instant.

L's peaceful expression was gone, replaced by one of complete and utter terror. His skin had gone from pale to chalk white. The man's normally wide eyes were the size of saucers. He took several rattling gasps, clenching the blankets so tightly his hands shook.

"W-Watari…" L choked, starring at me in horror, _"Where is Watari?"_

I was surprised to hear my own voice answer him. My instincts must have kicked in, and taken control away from my faulty brain.

"Watari is fine. He's okay," I assured quickly, "He just left on a quick errand. He'll be right back."

This didn't seem to sooth him much. He just kept starring at me, the air filled with the sound of his labored breathing.

"Do you want me to get you a phone?" I asked, "So you can call him?"

Boy, were my instincts good. I wouldn't have come up with that on my own. Too bad they couldn't be in charge _all_ the time.

I could tell that he wanted to, but there was reluctance on his face. After a few moments, he sat back against the bed's headboard.

"No…no, that won't be necessary…"

His voice cracked slightly as he said it, and I could hear a distinct note of self-loathing in his voice. L closed his eyes, breathing deeply.

I just stood there. It was awful, watching him try to piece himself together. L was always so logical, so composed. Seeing him like that felt…_wrong_. Like I was intruding on his privacy or something.

I wished I could do something, say _something_, but I was afraid that would make him feel worse instead of better. He was embarrassed, and I'd definitely had enough first-hand experience to tell.

Suddenly, I remembered what Watari had said, about how troubled his sleep was. Was that the reason he had wanted me to stay close to him? Because he didn't want L to be alone after a nightmare…?

My crush recovered himself quickly, or, at least, he acted like it. I think he was still shaken. He was just good at hiding it.

"…that is why I hate sleeping," he muttered in annoyance, "And because I was moved to a bed, my cognition has dropped 70%..."

He pulled his knees up, bracing himself against the headboard to rise into his usual crouched position.

Watari's voice echoed through my head.

…_he __**needs **__to rest…_

"Um…_uh_…L-san…?" I said meekly. Well, great. Looked like my instincts had relinquished control to my brain. This was going to be fun.

L seemed to ignore me.

"I can safely assume Watari sent everyone else home. At least I'll be able to work in peace now..."

_He'll want to return to work immediately…_

"Errr…L-san? W-Watari said…"

The raven-haired man continued to ignore me.

"Shortcake-san, please bring three slices of cake and an energy drink to the study. I'll be there shortly," he said, preparing to step off the bed.

_And make sure he stays in bed…_

Whatever that had been holding me back suddenly snapped. I owed it to Watari, and I owed it to L.

"_L-KUN!"_ I cried out, "GET BACK IN_ BED!"_

Well, he heard me that time. His dark eyes widened, and his leg pulled back so fast you'd have thought he'd been burned. My embarrassment, fear, and anxiety fused together to form the next jumbled sentence.

"_I'm-sorry-but-Watari-told-me-to-keep-you-in-bed-because-you're-exhausted-and-need-to-rest-and-I'm-really-worried-about-you-so-please-just-stay-in-bed!"_

L kept on starring at me, his dark eyes locked with my green-blue ones. I was blushing fiercely at that time because, once again, I had come off as sounding like an idiot. My gaze fell to the floor. I was silently kicking myself when I heard his quiet voice.

"…worried about me…?"

My eyes shot up.

He was still starring at me with wide eyes. The shock on his face suggested I had just told him I was a cross-dressing hippopotamus that had run away from the Russian circus. Did he really think me worrying about him was that astonishing?

"W-Well…_yeah,"_ I replied, surprised, "I mean…you're always pushing yourself so hard…it…it isn't good for you, L-kun…"

He blinked. My crush's dark eyes were swirling with emotions, but I didn't have time to discern what they were before his gaze dropped to the bed.

"You referred to me as L-kun. Does that mean…you consider me a friend?"

His voice was very quiet, almost timid, as if he expected me to shout "APRIL FOOL'S!" or just plain deny it. And there was something else hidden in there, that almost sounded like…longing?

"_Of course I do!"_ I blurted out. I couldn't help it. The expression on his face was like a little kid waiting to be told if there was a Santa Clause or not. I wanted to reassure him so badly I didn't even give myself a chance to think.

L gaped at me.

I began twirling the end of my braid nervously.

"I-I…I know we've only known each other…well…for a few days, but…b-but I _do_ think of you as a friend…and I…I know you probably don't think of _me_ as a friend…but that's okay…"

I swallowed, and finished quickly.

"…_because you'll still be my friend anyway!"_

I was expecting an awkward pause, or an awkward reply, because, let's face it, what I said to him was just plain awkward.

Instead, I was met with the biggest smile I'd even seen on his face. All the other times, it was just a small smile, as if he was trying to conceal it. But this one was different. Nothing about it was veiled; it was warm, and whole, and pure. And it lit up the room.

I could've tanned myself in the sheer brilliance of it.

* * *

True to his word, Watari returned ten minutes later, holding two bags. Which was weird, considering I was pretty sure the store they came from was already closed. But, then again, Watari was a ninja-wizard. He probably teleported inside, or somersaulted through an open window.

Per his request, I brought one of the bags into L's room and unloaded it onto a nearby coffee table. There were several kinds of sleeping pills, three bottles of a Gatorade-like beverage, and a slew of vitamins.

L had already fallen back asleep, which proved just how exhausted he really was. As quietly as I could, I leaned over, and gently pulled the covers back over him. He murmured something softly – I think it was the name of a dessert – and snuggled into the blanket. I suppressed an affectionate coo and beat a hasty, but silent, retreat into the hall.

Watari was carrying a platter I thought was meant for L, but set it down on the table near me instead.

"I noticed that you had skipped dinner, Shortcake-chan, and took the liberty of having something brought up," he said, and pulled off the cover to reveal one of the fanciest dinners I'd ever seen in my life. I mean, it shouldn't have been a big surprise. We were living in a five-star hotel, after all. But it looked like condor roasted over hundred-dollar bills, topped with pureed-gold, and served with a side of lobster.

Except it looked appetizing. Like, _mouth-watering._

I gave him a huge smile as I sat down to partake in the over-the-top feast.

"Thank you so much, Watari-san!"

"Not at all," he replied, "It's the least I could do to repay you. And I know L enjoyed your company."

I blushed a little. I wasn't so sure about that. I'm pretty sure he would've preferred if Watari had stayed there instead…

Come to think of it, why didn't he just send _me_ to get the stuff, and stay behind himself? Especially if L had nightmares, and would want someone close by? It's almost like he wanted me to be there alone with L…

_Wait a minute…!_

I whipped around to look at him. There was a look of complete innocence on his face, but there was a tell-tale glimmer in his eye. Apparently, he realized I had figured it out, because he simply chuckled warmly, and headed towards my crush's bedroom door.

_No way…_

That is one clever Ninja-Wizard.


	8. Involving a Shower, a BFF, and a Pavlova

**This chapter contains a good helping of innuendo. Sorry, I couldn't help myself… ^^' …I think there's a rule somewhere that every Death Note fanfic has to have some. And I just re-read the third volume of the **_**Ouran High School Host Club**_** manga, plus volumes 1-4 of the **_**Alice in the Country of Hearts**_** manga, so I was inspired. There's nothing explicit or really lewd, so don't worry. You've been warned! BWAHAHA!**

**Thanks for the awesome reviews! As long as I keep getting great feedback, I'll keep writing as fast as I can! ^_^**

**

* * *

**

Watari managed to keep L in bed for an entire day. I'm still not sure how he did it. I think it was a mixture of threatening and pleading, with a few bribes thrown in for good measure. Maybe a couple spells, too. Or sleeping gas. Probably a combination of all of them, because L is a workaholic. Like, to the extreme. Watari had to confiscate his cell phone because he was actually typing out full reports on its itty-bitty keyboard.

Yeah.

Anyway, L got a lot of sleep, which I suspect is mostly because Watari laced all his food with sleeping medicine. I have no proof of that, mind you. But when a ninja-wizard insists on serving all the desserts himself, and empty pill bottles start appearing in the trash, you figure these things out.

It was amazing how much good the rest did him. You could barely see the circles under his eyes, his appetite returned to normal (thank God), and his skin returned to his normal healthy color, which was still a lot paler than normal people's skin. He even seemed a little more cheerful. Of course, it's hard to say. It wasn't like I caught him whistling "Singin' in the Rain" or anything. He just sounded…I don't know…a little happier, was all.

And because he was happy, I was happy. Heck, I was practically giddy. You know why?

He'd started calling me "Shortcake-chan".

I'd been tap-dancing on Cloud 9 ever since.

After making the usual assortment of goodies, I decided to make him something new, as well. I wanted something bright and happy, but also something healthy. I'd been on a health-food kick ever since he collapsed, and let me tell you, making completely healthy desserts is darn near impossible. So I settled with upping his nutrition and sneaking healthy things into his sugar-filled menu. Some walnuts on the chocolate cake for protein, a squirt of lemon juice in the glaze for vitamin C. I even slipped some grated zucchini into the Carrot Cake.

Obsessed? Perhaps. But I was going to keep my gorgeous crush healthy if I had to give him an I.V. with vegetable juice while he slept.

I finally decided on a Pavlova. It's basically a huge meringue cookie, topped with whipped cream and fresh fruit. As far as healthy goes, it's pretty hard to beat meringue. Probably because you're basically eating air, with a bit of egg white and a dash of sugar.

I chose strawberries and blueberries for the fruits, because I had quickly learned that strawberries were L's favorite fruit, and blueberries are chock full of antioxidants. I added some lemon curd too, to add a sour zing, as well as some extra vitamin C.

Okay, so I'm obsessed.

I put a garnish of mint on my Pavlova, added a fork, and headed out towards the lounge, where he was usually working. I'd become a little better since me and my crush "officially" became friends. I could bring him dishes without turning beet red, and could actually talk to him without always dissolving into a gibbering mess.

Halfway towards the lounge, I met Watari, going the opposite direction.

"Ah, good morning, Shortcake-chan!" He greeted.

"Good morning, Watari-san," I said cheerfully.

The older gentleman glanced towards the fruit-covered Pavlova.

"Breakfast for L, I assume?"

"Uh huh."

He smiled warmly, and motioned towards back down the hall.

"I believe he's in that room," he said, before adding, "But you may want to bring two."

I raised an eyebrow. Bring _two?_ What did he mean by that?

Before I could ask him, he had already vanished into the shadows. Or, maybe he had just turned the corner.

So I just shrugged, and went to the door he pointed out. It was a little surprising L was in a bedroom. Granted, it was still only 9:00 in the morning (I'd gotten up early), and it _was_ a Sunday, but L never slept in a bed…willingly, at least. Maybe Watari had found him asleep on his chair and dragged him in.

Anyways, I was feeling happy and pretty confident as I walked down the hall.

Life didn't like that. Life likes me to be miserable. And since Life is a total douche bag, it threw me one of those lovely little curveballs it's so famous for.

The door flew open, and out stomped Light, looking severely ticked-off, closely followed by L. Both were handcuffed together.

And shirtless.

And _wet._

"_Dammit, Ryuuzaki!"_ Light howled, "Next time, just let me go _first!_ Why do you have to make everything difficult? It's hard enough to get in, without…!_"_

He froze mid-sentence. Apparently, he had noticed me standing there, with what I'm sure was an expression of abject horror.

And for once, it wasn't my turn to blush. Light, being a genius, realized exactly how that must have sounded, took a stab at what I was thinking, and promptly turned a brilliant shade of mahogany.

"_We were…I'm…he was…it…it isn't w-what it looks like!" _He choked out.

L seemed quite oblivious to the whole situation. He was looking a tad sullen, and in the process of trying to put on a shirt when he noticed me. More accurately he noticed the strawberry and blueberry Pavlova, and me holding it. He plodded over to me, still shirtless and wet, and, as always, got way too close.

"Oh, this must be for me. Thank you, Shortcake-chan," he said, taking the plate from my hands.

It was a good thing, too, because the shock of seeing him and Light handcuffed, half-naked, and dripping wet – as well as what Light had just _said_ – proved just too much for my system to handle. So once again…

_Thunk!_

…I fainted dead away.

* * *

I woke up on a sofa in the lounge. Someone had been nice enough to cover me with a blanket. I blinked a few times and sat up.

I then found myself face-to-face with L, who had thought it would be a good idea to perch on the end of the sofa. I let out a yelp of surprise and jumped backward, blushing madly.

"You're finally awake," he said, a flicker of emotion crossing his dark eyes, "You should really stay in bed if you're feeling anemic, Shortcake-chan."

"She wasn't _anemic,_ you idiot!" a voice hissed.

I turned to see Light standing beside him. They were still handcuffed together, but, thankfully, both had shirts on now.

Light's face flushed when I looked at him, and he quickly spoke up.

"I-I'm really sorry we startled you like that. It must have looked…pretty bad, but, honestly, we weren't doing anything. Ryuuzaki's making us wear _these…"_ he rattled the handcuffs disdainfully, "…because he still thinks I'm Kira."

"Actually, I know he's Kira," L replied in his monotone, "Or was Kira at some point. I'll be monitoring him twenty-four-seven until I determine which it is."

"Whatever," Light growled, "It's bad enough I have to try and sleep with you starring at me all night. We can take separate showers!"

L's eyes narrowed slightly.

"You act as if I joined you deliberately. You were the one who pulled _me_ in, fully dressed, I might add."

"_I didn't pull you in!" _Light yelled, blushing darker, "I slipped on this damn chain and _fell!_ Maybe if you hadn't handcuffed us together, this wouldn't have happened!"

They glared at each other for a few moments, before Light exhaled deeply, and turned to me.

"Anyway…it wasn't what it looked like. We weren't…_doing_ anything," he finished uncomfortably.

Then L went and made it even more uncomfortable.

"Light and I were not having intercourse," my crush said firmly, starring into my eyes, "I'm heterosexual."

If there was an award for the most awkward sentence ever, I'm pretty sure L had just won it.

"_H-Hey!"_ the brunette beside him exclaimed, "So, what? You don't think I am _too?"_

The raven-haired man glanced at him briefly.

"Your tedious attention to your appearance suggests otherwise."

"_What?_ So brushing my hair and wearing clean clothes makes me _gay?"_

"You pulled me into the _shower_, Light-kun."

"I SLIPPED AND FELL, YOU ASSHOLE!" Light shouted. He looked like he was torn between keeling over in embarrassment and strangling the life from my crush.

"It's no faaaaair~!" a female voice whined.

The owner of said voice appeared beside Light, grabbing a hold of him. It was Misa.

"I wanna take a shower with you too, Light-kun!" she pleaded, rubbing her face against his arm, "I don't even care if Ryuuzaki is in the bathroom too! He can just wear a blindfold and earplugs!"

_Dear. Lord._

If there was an award for the most awkward conversation ever, we just won that one too.

"_M-Misa!"_ Light gasped, turning bright red. He wasn't the only one. My cheeks had turned red too. Even L was blushing a little at _that_ one. The only one who wasn't embarrassed seemed to be the speaker herself.

"Please? Pretty please? Pleeeeeease~?"

What the heck was wrong with this chick? She was about the same age as me, but had the sex drive of a dirty old _man!_

Light could only take so much, and the way the blond was rubbing the skin off his arm wasn't helping matters.

"Cut it _out,_ Misa!" he said sharply, jerking away from her, "I'm not showering with you!"

A pout appeared on her gleaming pink lips.

"Why not? Don't you love me anymore?"

"I've never claimed to _love_ you!" Light replied bluntly, glaring at her.

Her pout was instantly replaced by a look of dismay. Her eyes welled up with tears.

"B-But…but you kissed me!" she cried out, "That _has_ to mean you love me!"

"It doesn't mean anything…" he mumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose, "Honestly, I can't even remember why I did it…"

The dam broke, and tears started gushing out of her auburn eyes. She ran to the door.

"_L-Light-kun…you're…you're so MEAN!"_ she sobbed, and slammed the door behind her.

The three of us remained silent for a few minutes, before L spoke up.

"…that went well," he said, a dry edge in his voice.

Light frowned heavily, shooting him a weary glare.

"It's the truth. I wasn't about to lie to her."

"Lying to her may be in the best interest of the case," L replied, stepping down from the sofa's edge onto the floor, "I have no doubt that Misa Amane is, or was, the second Kira, and we also know she is connected to Kira in some way. Kira manipulated the both of you, but she is the only one who worships him; she'll protect him if she can. But if you pretend to return her affection, there isn't anything she won't tell you."

Light balked.

"I'm not going to play on her emotions like that! I'm not that kind of person!"

"Why not?" L asked, "It'll make her happy, however briefly, and if properly utilized, Misa could be a valuable asset to this investigation."

"…do you really mean that, L-kun?"

Both turned towards me.

Yep, it was me who had spoken up. I couldn't help it. Sure, I wasn't Misa's biggest fan. I could tell by the way she had been shooting glares at me the past couple days she hated my guts. Sure, I thought she was annoying, and was a little jealous of her looks. But even _she_ didn't deserve to just be used like that. And thinking that L would be willing to do that…it made me a little sick to my stomach.

He wouldn't really do that…would he?

"Would you really manipulate someone like that?" I asked softly, unable to hide the shocked sadness in my voice, "You said that Kira manipulated Misa and Light. If you manipulated Misa too, that would make you _just like_ Kira. You can't fight evil with evil."

They stayed silent, just kind of starring at me. I think they were shocked that I actually said something that didn't make me sound like a total doofus. After a little bit, Light turned to look at the raven-haired man beside him. L just kept on starring. Slowly, his dark eyes fell.

"Perhaps you're right, Shortcake-chan," he said quietly, a hint of shame in his voice.

Then it was gone, replaced by his usual monotone.

"Although, it probably won't come to that," he said, carefully perching on his usual office chair, and re-starting his laptop, "You might end up falling for her, Light-kun. She's very beautiful."

And suddenly, whatever happiness I had attained crumbled, and I felt worse than ever.

Light had started arguing vehemently that that would never happen, so neither of them noticed when I slipped quietly out of the room, and headed slowly back to my kitchen. My plan was to make a batch of chocolate-chip cookies, and wolf them down until I felt remotely better.

The fact that my beloved crush had just said Misa was beautiful wasn't the problem. Granted, that still hurt a little, but what really made me miserable was the knowledge that I _wasn't._ I mean, I know I'm not hideous or anything. But I don't remember being called "beautiful" once in my life. I'd had a couple people call me "cute", but any girl can tell you that isn't the same as being "beautiful". Plus, I think they were more referencing my personality than anything else. I'm plain-looking at best.

_You're such a sweet girl,_ my aunt once told me, _It's such a pity you didn't get your mother's looks._

Yeah. 'Cause getting told _that_ at age thirteen does _wonders_ for your self-image.

I'd already started working on the cookies, and at that point, I was toying with the idea of just scarfing down the dough, when who should appear at the kitchen doorway but Misa Amane.

She'd been crying; the tell-tale lines of mascara and eyeliner down her face made that obvious. But she didn't look sad now. Nope.

Misa looked as if she was going to tear out my skull and beat me to death with it. I don't think that's physically possible, but her expression suggested she was going to try it anyway.

_Just when I thought things couldn't get any better…_

"You're the reason Light doesn't like Misa-Misa anymore, _aren't you?"_ she exploded, venom oozing in her voice, _"_You wormed your way in here when Misa-Misa was gone, and now Light-kun likes you _instead!"_

I stared at her.

_HUH?_

Did she honestly think that I could woo Light, the unofficial sex symbol of Japan? And then manage to steal him from a busty _supermodel?_

I would've laughed at the absurdity of the suggestion, had she not looked like she would pounce on me and rip out my throat with her perfect, pearly white teeth. I managed to regain my voice.

"M-Misa-san…Light-san doesn't _like_ me. I mean, he's been nice to me, but he isn't – _romantically_ – interested in me at all!"

"Maybe that's true," Misa snarled, "But I know _you're_ interested in _him!"_

I blinked.

I was starting to see how L thought she was the second Kira. I could practically see demon horns popping out of her blond head, and, judging by the stuff coming out of her mouth, she was most assuredly off her rocker.

"_W-What?_ I-I'm not…!"

"I'm not as stupid as all those dumb guys!" she interrupted, her auburn eyes gleaming dangerously. She pointed a well-manicured finger at me menacingly. "They can't see it, but I've been watching you. You're always starring off into space and sighing. You're in _love!"_

I gaped at her, wide-eyed and speechless.

You know, for a murderous, obsessive nut-job who referred to herself in third person, she was surprisingly perceptive. Of course, being a murderous, obsessive nut-job who referred to herself in third person, she naturally got it all wrong.

"_Admit it!"_ She yelled, bearing down on me, "Just _admit _you like my sweet Light-kun! _Admit it, admit it, ADMIT IT!"_

I couldn't take it anymore. My head was still reeling from what she had said, and her accusations were just making me more and more flustered. And just between you and me, the crazy chick scared the crap out of me.

"_MISA-SAN!"_ I burst out, "LIGHT-SAN ISN'T THE ONE I _LIKE!"_

Well, that did it. The blond took a step backward in surprise. Her eyes were still gleaming dangerously, though, demanding an explanation and threatening dismemberment.

I fingered my braid, my eyes falling to the floor.

"I…I-I'm…in love with…_Ryuuzaki-kun,"_ I mumbled shyly.

Misa gaped at me, wide-eyed and slack-jawed. I couldn't tell if she thought I was lying, or she was really that surprised. I tensed up, ready for her to start screaming that I was lying, that I was trying to steal her boyfriend, and so on, and so on. It's hard reasoning with a crazy person.

But by some miracle, it must have got through, because the expression on her face suddenly flipped a one-eighty.

"THAT'S SO _KYOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT~!"_ she squealed, tackling me, and squeezing the air out of my lungs. As I struggled to breathe, she quickly released me, grabbed my hands, and proceeded to bounce me around the kitchen. Her face was now beaming angelically, her auburn eyes sparkling. It was like a completely different person.

"I'm so _relieved!" _she said cheerfully, ceasing her bouncing, and holding up my hands, "I can totally see it now! I'm _soooo_ sorry for the misunderstanding, Shortcake-chan!"

Wait, what? _Shortcake-chan?_

"This is so great!" she chattered, "You're a Kira suspect, too, right? So you live here, right? Now Misa-Misa has a girl to talk to! And we're both in love, love, _LOVE!"_

I was still recovering from shock, so I didn't say anything. Plus, I think if I had tried, I might have lost my breakfast from all the bouncing.

The blond dropped my hands.

"Have you told him yet? Have you confessed your feelings to Ryuuzaki-kun? _Have you?"_

I managed a weak shake of my head.

Misa gasped.

"_You haven't? _Oh, well, come on then! Let's go tell him right now!"

With that, the blond model seized my wrist and began pulling me out of the kitchen.

"RYUUZAKI-KUN~!" she sang out, "SHORTCAKE-CHAN HAS SOMETHING TO _TEEEELL YOOOOOOOU~!"_

Well, that snapped me back to my senses. I yanked away, grabbing her wrists, and pulled her back.

"N-N-NO!" I gasped, shaking my head, and blushing wildly, "I can't tell him yet! _Please! _I'm not ready!"

Misa blinked in surprise.

"Oh, I get it…" she grinned, "You're _shy!_ Tee-hee! That's so cute!"

Her expression turned serious.

"Don't you worry, Shortcake-chan. Misa-Misa's lips are sealed. Misa-Misa won't say a _word."_

Suddenly she pulled away.

"Oh, I just remembered! I've got a photo shoot I have to be at!"

The blond model skipped excitedly to the doorway, winking at me playfully.

"We're going to be the bestest of best friends! Bye, Shortcake-chan!"

Then she was gone, leaving me to wonder what the hell had just happened. Somehow, in the span of ten short minutes, I had become the best friend of a famous supermodel who had previously wanted to kill me.

That girl was like a bipolar chipmunk on Red Bull, with a PH.D in crazy. I wasn't sure if I was going to survive our friendship.

Then it hit me. I had just said that I loved L.

Not that I had a _crush_ on L. Not that I was _infatuated_ with L.

No, I had said I was _in love_ with L.

That couldn't be right! I hadn't known him that long! It had been just a slip of the tongue! There was no way I was actually _in love_ with him…right?

…_RIGHT?_

…

Aw,_ crap._


	9. Involving a New Home and Guests

After that awkward, crazy day came to a close, I was sort of expecting things to go back to normal. Well, as normal as they are at the investigation headquarters. I should've known better. Because, honestly? Things just got weirder from then on.

The next morning, I had barely put a slice of coconut cake down in front of L when I got the news.

"We're moving," L announced, in his usual monotone.

I blinked.

"…moving?" I repeated, watching as he dug into the cake, "You mean…to a different hotel?"

"No, actually, the Kira Task Force is moving into a permanent building," Light explained. They were still handcuffed together. Light didn't look like he had gotten much sleep. Of course, it's kind of hard to sleep well when you're chained to a work-a-holic insomniac.

"Where?" I asked.

My crush paused in his assault on the cake, and used his fork to press a key on his laptop. Instantly, the image of a towering building appeared. It had to be thirty stories tall, at least.

"This will serve as our new base of operations. It is equipped with state-of-the-art computers, surveillance equipment, and living facilities. It can comfortably house 60 people," L paused to lick a few coconut flakes off his lips, before continuing, "I had it specially designed as soon we commenced the investigation."

I couldn't take my eyes off the enormous structure.

"You built…a _skyscraper?"_ I asked helplessly.

"Officially, it's a luxury apartment complex. But yes," the raven-haired man replied, taking another large bite of cake, "We'll be moving in in the morning. Shortcake-chan, please have your belongings ready. And I'd like you to inform Ryoko-san. I'd rather her not think you'd been kidnapped again."

* * *

Sure enough, the next morning (though I still refuse to consider 4:30 as _morning_), I found myself in a rental car, being whisked towards the towering new headquarters building. It still boggled my mind how L could have had a skyscraper built in a matter of months.

The building had better security than most airports. Entry required a pass-code, a fingerprint scan, a retina scan, and a trip through a metal detector. I was half expecting a strip search and chemical shower.

Geeze. Where did they get all that stuff? The F.B.I surplus store?

Anyway.

The inside was just as mindboggling as the outside. There were thirty floors, and only three I didn't have access to. The first floor was home to a large room full of desks, enormous monitors, and paperwork. Lots of paperwork.

"This is where the task force will spend most of their time," Watari explained, leading me down the adjacent hallway, and pointing towards a pair of double doors, "Down there is your new kitchen, Shortcake-chan."

"Oh!" I said. He must have caught the surprise in my voice, because L, who had been trailing behind us, along with his captive Light, spoke up.

"Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong," I assured quickly, "I just…didn't think the kitchen would be so close to your workspace."

Watari chuckled.

"It wasn't going to be. L made a last minute change to the design."

I blinked, and sheepishly glanced at my raven-haired crush. 'Cause I had a hunch why he did it.

_Please let this not be something about him suspecting me of being Kira…!_

"It was necessary," L replied, "The kitchen was originally positioned at the other end of the building. Each trip would've taken roughly 11.3 minutes, and, factoring in my minimal daily snack allotment, it would have cost me 3.667 hours a day. Which would have meant I'd have had 3.667 hours less time each day to catch Kira. That was not an option."

His dark, mesmerizing eyes flickered towards me, and he pulled a hand from his pocket to lightly nibble on his thumb.

"Besides," he murmured, "I wouldn't have been able to smell anything."

I just barely suppressed a giggle. Light just barely suppressed a groan.

Watari led me to the elevators – all four of them – and was about to follow me inside, when L stopped him.

"There's no need for that, Watari. I can show Shortcake-chan to her room."

I'm pretty sure all three of our jaws dropped at that point.

I mean, don't get me wrong, I was thrilled (insanely nervous, but still thrilled); I was just really shocked. My crush isn't what you'd call the most social of people. Actually, he tends to avoid social situations. More accurately put, he tends to completely ignore everyone around him unless he is forced into a situation where he _must _speak to them.

So him willingly offering to escort me to my room? Kind of a shocker.

I actually pinched myself to make sure I hadn't fallen asleep in the car again.

"Are you sure?" Watari asked.

L raised a non-existent eyebrow.

"I have to make sure all the supplies were delivered to their proper floor anyway. There's no reason I can't start with Shortcake-chan's room first."

Watari blinked, then smiled. I caught a familiar glimmer in his eye.

"Of course," he said simply, "I'll entrust her to you, then. There's no shortage of things to be done."

Then he was gone, poof, and the elevator doors slid shut. L delicately pressed the "19" button, and up we went.

Things were quiet as we ascended. No one said anything. No one even looked at each other. Light hadn't been able to look me in the eye since the – ahem – _incident_ – and L, for whatever reason, seemed fascinated by watching the floor number steadily increase.

I don't know about you, but I can't handle awkward silences. They drive me crazy. It makes me feel like I'm in a pressure cooker, and if someone doesn't say something, I'll be crushed into paper-thin nothingness. Of course, feeling like you're being squished by a trash compactor doesn't lead to the most brilliant of observations.

"This building has a thirteenth floor," I said aloud.

Yeah. I know how dumb it sounds. I knew how dumb it sounded _then_. And to highlight how dumb it sounded, both L and Light gave me a look that plainly said, _Yes, that __**IS**__ the number that comes after twelve_._ Good job. Gold star for you._

I tried to rephrase it so I could sound slightly less moronic.

"W-Well, I know all skyscrapers have a thirteenth floor," I stammered, pointing at the button, "But most don't call it that. Thirteen is supposedly an unlucky number, so they skip it and call the thirteenth floor the fourteenth floor."

The explanation helped erase their expressions. L turned his attention back to the rising number on the display.

"This building no doubt would have done that too, but Misa-chan has a fascination with the occult, and claimed the thirteenth floor for herself. She was quite insistent."

I blinked.

"Misa-san…lives on the thirteenth floor?"

Light must have read my face like a book, because his lips quirked up in a wary smile.

"Yeah…I'm going to try and steer clear of that floor, too."

I gave a nervous, forced laugh. I was fast suspecting that the title of "Light's girlfriend" was something that Misa had bestowed upon herself. Light was about as attracted to her as a vampire was attracted to sunlight. The reaction to exposure was about the same, too; hiss, and run for cover.

We arrived on the nineteenth floor. I followed behind them as L led us down the hallway to a white door.

"Here we are," he said, turning to me, "Go ahead."

I blushed slightly, nodded, and opened the door. I instantly lost my breath.

Inside was the most beautiful – and largest – apartment I'd ever seen in my life. The floor was covered in soft, cream-colored carpet. The cabinets and shelves were made of oak, and the expansive bathroom (the tiny amount I could see through the open door) was polished marble. The walls had been painted pale yellow, and the entire place was fully furnished, including an exquisitely plushy couch and a flat screen T.V.

But what really blew me away was the large pile of boxes in the living room, each one carefully labeled. I pulled the lid off the one marked "pictures" and found it full of the framed photographs I had had in my apartment.

"Y-You…you brought all my stuff _here?"_ I gasped in shock.

L gazed at me from under his thick black hair.

"Most of it, aside from the furniture. Watari suggested it. Since you'll be living here, he thought it might be comforting to be surrounded by your possessions."

Suddenly, one of the boxes – one that was big enough to fit a refrigerator in – wiggled.

My breath hitched. Light went tense. L blinked, removing his thumb from his mouth to frown heavily.

"It seems they brought your cat as well."

I managed to regain enough of my voice to squeak out,

"…I-I…I don't _have_ a cat…"

Instantly, his face hardened. Cautiously and silently, he approached the box, dragging Light behind as he did so.

The box moved again. And it was breathing.

So unless someone had given me a panther as a housewarming gift...

L waited a few minutes without moving. He must have finally heard something, because his eyes narrowed, and in one fluid motion, he ripped off the tape and threw the box open.

Three people popped out.

I let out a shriek of surprise, jumping backward. Light did the same, minus the shriek. L simply glared down at them, his brow furrowed.

Once the initial shock passed, I saw that they were actually just kids – young teens, in fact. The first was a boy with flaming red hair and goggles, wearing a striped t-shirt, with a death-grip on a Gameboy. The second boy was an albino, with white hair and grey eyes, wearing a horribly wrinkled white shirt. The third was a girl with short blond hair, dressed in a black long-sleeved shirt and what appeared to be leather pants.

They all flopped out onto the floor, gasping and panting.

"What…_moron_…came up…with this…stupid…plan?" a masculine voice wheezed. It seemed to come from the girl. Oh. Guess _she_ was actually a _he. _Whoops.

"The…blond…one," the albino managed.

The girl – er, boy_,_ sorry, _boy_ – whipped around to glare at his white-haired companion.

"_Shut up, Near!"_ He spat.

"You…asked…" the red-head beside them panted.

"_Shut up, Matt!"_

My crush, who was still standing over them, and was looking really annoyed, finally spoke up.

"Mello," he said slowly, enunciating the name, "What exactly are you three doing in a cardboard box in _Japan?"_

All three of the teens looked up.

"L-Leon!" the red-head – Matt – choked.

In an instant, the boys were on their feet and running towards the door. Well, two of them were. The white haired one – I guess he was called Near – just calmly stood up and brushed himself off. But his compatriots didn't get far. Because who should appear in the doorway at that exactly moment but Watari, king of the ninja-wizards.

He seized both boys by their shirt collars. The teens yelped, trying to wrench loose, until Watari fixed them with a shocking, soul-reaching glare. It said _Don't make me use my abracadabra shinobi whoop-ass on you, because I WILL._

Both of them immediately froze. And probably wet themselves.

"Mello," he said evenly, his eyes moving from the blond to the red-head in his grasp, "Matt," his eyes roved back to meet the albino behind them, "Near. I think you have some explaining to do."


	10. Involving Aliases and Compliments

**DISCLAIMER TIME! I don't own Death Note. Death Note belongs to Takeshi Obata. I don't own L, Watari, Light, Misa, Mello, Near, Matt, or any of the task force. I am not making a single thin penny off this story, and I write only out of admiration for Obata-sama's work, and for the enjoyment of myself and my readers. I only claim Noel-chan (Shortcake), and Ryoko-chan as my own creations.**

**I don't have enough money to make suing me worth your time anyway. Trust me… T_T**

**BWAHAHAHAH! I just had to have the Wammy Boys make an appearance! Oh, and I added some new honorifics in this chapter, so here they are: "-sama" is an extremely polite way of addressing someone, and means that the person speaking respects them greatly. "-senpai" means the speaker is addressing someone of higher status then they are, like an upperclassman, or someone who has a higher position in an organization. "-bozu" is an informal way of addressing a boy, similar to "kid" or "squirt"; it can be used insultingly.**

**Another gleeful thank-you to all those who have reviewed my humble little work! You're my inspiration, guys! ^_^**

**So without further ado…enjoy~!**

**000**

Ten minutes later, all three boys were on my couch. Watari had gone to make arrangements for our new "guests". L was sitting – well, crouching – across from them. Light was sitting unhappily beside him, and I was standing by them, mostly because I wasn't sure what else to do.

"Now," L said, "I'd like to know why you three are here."

"We were bored," Near replied. No kidding. The boy's eyes were half-closed and gazing blankly ahead. He looked like he might keel over from boredom any second.

"We wanted to meet L," Matt added.

My crush frowned.

"L isn't here."

Wait. _What?_

Apparently, Light was just as confused as I was, because he glanced at me, silently wondering if I knew what was going on. When it was obvious I didn't, we just decided to keep quiet and listen.

"We know that isn't true!" Mello exclaimed, sitting forward, eyes trained on the raven-haired man, "Leon-senpai, you work for L-sama, and so does Watari! He _has _to be here!"

Leon? Who the heck was _Leon? _ The blond appeared to be addressing L!

The raven-haired man didn't even bat an eye.

"L-sama is off pursuing another lead. He'll be gone for days, perhaps weeks. In the meantime, he left me in charge."

"He left _you_ in charge?" Matt said, his voice laced with so much surprise it was insulting.

"That doesn't make any sense!" Mello exclaimed, "Why wouldn't he leave Watari in charge? And why didn't we see any messages between you two on the…!"

He froze, realizing he just said something he shouldn't have.

L's dark eyes flickered to the red-head at his side.

"Ah. Matt-san. The latest attempt to hack our network was your doing?"

The teen chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his head. His blond friend grinned mischievously.

"That's right. Matt-kun hacked your precious network."

Matt nondescriptly elbowed him in the side.

"_Shhhh! You want to get us into __**more**__ trouble?"_ He whispered.

"He _attempted_ to hack our network," my crush corrected, eyeing Mello from under his unkempt raven hair, "However, what he actually hacked into was a decoy network with little information, most of which was false. The coordinates of this location were not listed there, so…"

He nibbled thoughtfully on his thumb for a moment, before continuing.

"…you must have hacked into Rodger's computer."

"'Hacked' is such an ugly word…" Matt replied, raising his hands defensively, "And it was Near who figured out the password to the blocked files. Besides, Rodger's firewall is such crap, it was almost like he _wanted_ us to…"

L's dark stare made him break off his sentence. The teen swallowed.

"…yeah, that was me," he admitted sheepishly, "Sorry, Leon-senpai."

L exhaled lightly, something I guessed was as close to a sigh as he allowed himself.

"Which brings me to my next question. _How_ did you get here?"

Mello grinned smugly, and sat back, folding his arms.

"It wasn't hard. I swiped Rodger's credit card and booked us three tickets to Japan. I paid off the cabby with cash. And since we all speak Japanese…"

He finished with a simple wave of his hand, arrogant teen sign language for _Piece of cake._

"Hmmm…" my crush murmured, glancing at the white-haired teen at the end of the couch, who was zoning off into space, "So you wouldn't have been able to get here without Near-san and Matt-san's help. Curious. I've never heard of you working willingly with Near-san before."

At the mention of the albino, Mello's smirk vanished, replaced by a grimace and a glare.

I was no expert, but if I had to venture a guess, I'd say that Mello and Near weren't real buddy-buddies. Either L didn't know that, or he _did _know it, and said it as revenge for Mello's escapade. I'd never really thought of my crush as ignorant or vengeful, so it was hard to say.

"He didn't work with Near-bozu _willingly,_ believe me," Matt groaned, "He basically blackmailed us into letting him come. I've been keeping Mello-kun from strangling him the whole way."

From the seething glare Mello was shooting the albino's way, he looked like he might have to prevent at least one more murder attempt.

"I see. And how, exactly, did you get into Japan without passports, guardians, or paperwork?" L asked.

"I'll only tell that to L-sama," Mello replied angrily, "I'll answer any question L-sama has, but I won't answer any more of _yours_, Leon-senpai."

And finally, I got it. It clicked. I must have been one of the dumbest people on the planet, but I finally got it. "Leon" was just another of L's aliases, like "Ryuuzaki". I was still completely in the dark when it came to who exactly these three teens were, or how L knew them, or, even weirder, how they knew all about L and his operation, but in all honesty, I didn't want to know. You know why? Because if it had taken that long for me to figure out "Leon" was an alias, all that other information would've made my head pop off like a cork on a shaken Champaign bottle.

L and Mello stared at each other for a few minutes. Well, more accurately put, L stared at Mello, and Mello _glared_ at him.

Finally, the raven-haired man climbed down onto the floor, straightening up into his usual spine-bending slouch.

"I see. In that case, there's no reason to continue our conversation. I've already instructed Watari to notify Rodger. No doubt he'll want to have words with you three when you get back."

All three of the boys paled. Or, at least I think they did. It was a bit hard to tell with Near.

"_W-What?"_ Matt choked out, "You're…y-you're sending us back? _Already?"_

"That is my intention, yes."

Mello, obviously the bravest – or at least most hotheaded – of the bunch, jumped to his feet, motioning wildly.

"_You can't just send us back, dammit! We just __**got**__ here!"_ he yelled.

Not a trace of emotion crossed L's face, or his dark, unreadable eyes.

"True. I doubt there's an available flight out today. But there may be one tomorrow."

"_I haven't even gotten to meet L yet!"_ the blond cried.

My crush's eyes narrowed.

"Let me make this clear to you, Mello-san. You are not going to meet L. _None of you_ are going to meet L. You are too young, too naïve, and, as your exploit today has shown, too rash. It will be years before you are mature enough to meet him. I will remind you that he left me in charge, and that means you _will_ be on the next available flight back to England. Do I make myself clear?"

Mello glowered up at the raven-haired man, gritting his teeth. He looked like he wanted to tear my crush a new one in the worst way. Matt had grabbed onto him, most likely to keep that from happening.

"Leon…you _bastard…!_ Why the hell do _you_ get to work for L? Why the hell do _you_ get to see his face? What makes _you_ so &^%$#% _special?" _ Mello shouted furiously.

Near came out of his boredom-induced stupor long enough to throw a cold glance towards the blond.

"Mello-san, calm down."

The blond whipped around towards him, rage blazing in his eyes.

"I AM &^%$(&# CALM, _DAMMIT!"_

Near blinked.

"Obviously," he replied dryly.

The blond teen launched into a furious spiel of curse words so vulgar that a drunken sailor would've hung his head in shame. And this time, Matt _did_ have to hold him back.

When he was finished and panting, still swearing in-between breaths, his red-headed friend tried to talk him out of his murderous rampage.

"M-Mello-kun…Mello-kun, just _breathe_…let's just go get you some chocolate, okay…?"

By some freakish miracle, the blond's body relaxed a bit, and his twisted face, which had read _I am officially insane and will rip out the hearts of everyone including puppies_ softened into a _the world can go screw itself _look.

"Lemme go," he mumbled, slapping his friend's hands away, before storming into my new kitchen. Matt gave L an apologetic look, adjusted his goggles, and followed after him. Near merely blinked, and turned his unwavering gaze towards L.

"Are there any toys here?" He asked coldly.

"No. But I believe there are some playing cards in Watari's office. Floor 18, room 1803. Watari should still be there."

Near grudgingly got to his feet and shuffled out into the hallway, acting as if Life itself was some massive chore. Once they were gone, L motioned towards another door.

"Shortcake-chan, let's go into your bedroom."

My cheeks flushed red. I couldn't help it. How else was I supposed to respond to that comment?

Light raised an eyebrow towards my crush.

"_Why_ do you want to go into her bedroom?"

Not bothering to turn and face him, the raven-haired man simply trudged to the door, pulling the brunette along with the chain.

"Because I want to check that there are no more _children _hidden in her belongings."

I followed them in, quietly shutting the door behind me. Like the rest of the apartment, my bedroom was amazing. I didn't really take the time to admire it, however; my mind was preoccupied with questions. _Lots_ of questions.

L went over to the largest of the boxes and pulled off the lid, delicately poking the contents to see if anything yelped. When nothing did, he replaced the lid, and moved on to the next box. He checked every box that could hold a human being, even the ones that could only hold only master contortionists. Satisfied, he cast a glance at Light.

"Feel free to speak your mind. This bedroom is soundproof."

_Soundproof?_ Why the heck would he make my bedroom _soundproof?_ What did he think I was going to…?

I shook my head, trying to dislodge any ideas before they took root. Because you know what? I didn't want to know. I _really_ didn't.

Light had the exact same reaction. He stared at L, opened his mouth to ask why, quickly decided against it, and shook his head to dislodge any thoughts. Because you know what? He didn't want to know, either.

Instead, he moved on to his next question.

"First Ryuuga, then Ryuuzaki, and now Leon…how many aliases do you _have_, Ryuuzaki-kun?"

"One hundred and thirty four," the handsome hunchback replied, shoving his hands back into his pockets, "Not including the fifty-one others that I've already retired."

He paused to face me and Light fully.

"This is probably needless to say, but you should refer to me as 'Leon' in their company. Calling me 'Ryuuzaki' would only spawn more questions, and they already have quite enough of those as is."

It was then that I spoke up.

"Hey, um…L-kun?"

His wide, dark eyes caught mine in their entrancing spell. I looked down nervously.

"I've n-noticed that…that everyone else besides Watari calls you 'Ryuuzaki'. I know that's the alias you normally go by, b-but…"

He continued to stare at me, and I swallowed, trying to keep my voice steady.

"…but you've never told _me_ to call you 'Ryuuzaki'."

Light slipped his un-handcuffed hand into his pocket, frowning.

"Yeah, I've noticed that, too. You told me and all the other task force members to call you 'Ryuuzaki', even in private. But you've never said a word to Shortcake-chan about calling you anything other than 'L'."

L blinked, before his eyes drifted thoughtfully to the ceiling.

"It's a rather selfish reason, I suppose," he murmured softly, before his eyes settled back on me. His pale lips curled into a small smile, "I like the way you say it."

A pink blush spread over my cheeks. I could feel my heart bouncing giddily in my chest.

Now that I thought about it, I _did _say "L" differently. In the Japanese language, all "L"s were pronounced as "R"s. So, whereas everyone else pronounced "L" as "Eru", I pronounced it as "Ehl". I hadn't even noticed it before. It was just second nature to pronounce the letter as I had grown up pronouncing it.

I would've felt like a complete and utter imbecile, was it not for the fact he said he _liked_ the way I said it.

He liked the way I said his name – well, more accurately, his title. Aw, really, who the heck cared what it was? He _liked_ the way I said it!

_HE LIKED IT!_

I was so happy I could've exploded into a shower of rainbow confetti.

"…I-I'm glad…L-kun…" I murmured shyly, fingering my braid.

Life just doesn't play fair. There I was, having just gotten a compliment from the man I loved (er, no, _crush!_ The man I had a _crush _on!); I'd probably never get another compliment from him again, and Life wasn't even nice enough to let me savor the moment. Nope. Instead, it took that moment to rain on my parade. And when it rains, it _pours._

L walked up to me, and, following his prerogative, leaned in a few inches from my face.

"Shortcake-chan. I have a favor to ask you."

"…o-of course, anything!" I replied, smiling.

First mistake.

"I want you to watch over Near, Matt, and Mello. It should only be for a day or two. Just keep them entertained and, preferably, away from me."

I don't think I even heard him fully. I was still skipping through proverbial La-La Land.

Second mistake.

But my mouth must've been working fine, because I heard myself say,

"S-Sure, I can do that."

Third mistake. HOME RUN!

L rewarded me with another of his heart-meltingly adorable little smiles, before he turned away, his face expressionless once again, his eyes veiled and unreadable. He pulled open the door.

"Good. I'll have Watari get you whatever you or the children require. Light and I will be downstairs in the Monitor Room. I have a pressing matter to attend to."

I followed them out into the living room, and to the front door.

"You mean, the investigation?" Light asked.

"No. Something even more alarming."

"What could be more alarming than Kira?" I asked, taken aback.

"The fact that the three smartest children in the world forgot to poke _breathing holes_ in their box," L replied grimly.

He and Light slipped out into the hallway.

"Good luck, Shortcake-chan," he said, before the door shut, and they were gone.

Feeling someone watching me, I slowly turned around.

Near had apparently found the playing cards, and was carefully stacking them into a tower. He stared at me with his icy eyes.

"That is the most idiotic nickname I have ever heard," he said coldly, and went back to building.

Suddenly, something shattered in the kitchen, followed by an enraged teenage voice.

"WHERE THE HELL IS THE &*^%$# _CHOCOLATE?"_

I gulped.

This was going to be fun.


	11. Involving a Hand Mixer and Homicide

**Hey everyone~! I'm really sorry for the wait! I've been really busy lately…**

**Muse: She's been playing Dragon Age II.**

**AAACK! DON'T TELL THEM THAT! *tries to wrestle the game back***

**Muse: *cuffs AnimeRANDOMNESS on the back of the head* No. Bad author.**

**T_T…anyway…I'm sick, so until I feel a bit better, my updates might be sort of slow. Thanks for understanding! And, per usual, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL YOUR WONDERFUL REVIEWS!**

**Enjoy~!**

**

* * *

**

Thirty minutes after L had put me in charge of the three teenagers, I was in my apartment's kitchen, and slowly beginning to panic. See, I was an only child. I had no brothers or sisters or even younger cousins. Heck, I had less experience with kids than I did with guys. And since my experience with guys was a big fat zero, my experience with children was in the negatives.

Simply put?

I had absolutely no idea what I was doing.

_Don't stress out, _I told myself firmly, trying to crush the anxiety growing in my stomach, _They're not kids, they're teenagers. I just got out of my teens, so I'll just treat them as my peers. Yeah. I can do this._

I had tried to interest them in baking a cake with me, but the only one who wanted to participate was Mello, and I had a sneaking suspicion the only two reasons were a( the cake was chocolate and b( Near had said Mello couldn't do it.

"Okay," I said nervously, "First off, you probably are going to want an apron. I have a red one you can…"

"I'm not wearing an apron," the blond replied flatly.

"But, you're wearing all black," I reminded him, "You're going to get covered in flour if you don't…"

"_I'm not wearing an apron!"_ He snapped.

"…alright," I replied meekly.

See, here's one of the many flaws of my personality. I let people push me around. And step on me. And perform an Irish jig on my head. I'm extremely uncomfortable with conflict, so I usually try to end the argument as quickly as possible…namely, giving up. I'm not proud of it. I wish I could be tougher, more forceful. But I'm always so nervous about making people mad at me or hurting their feelings I very rarely try.

So, basically, I'm a wimp.

Geeze. The more I think about it, the more I realize L's scathing analysis of my personality was dead-on.

I shook my head, and tried to clear my thoughts.

"Um, so, first, we'll need to sift together 85 grams cocoa powder, 345 grams of flour, 2 grams of baking powder, 9 grams of baking soda, and 3 grams of salt," I instructed.

The blond stared at me like I had just spoken to him in Klingon.

"…sift…?" He repeated.

"Uh, yeah," I replied, blinking, "With a sifter."

He kept on staring.

I slowly handed him the sifter. He pulled on the trigger a few times, starring at the turning mesh, then looked up at me.

"What the _hell_ am I supposed to do with this thing?" He asked, frustration growing in his voice.

"You put the flour and things in and sift them," I explained nervously, "It helps keep lumps out of the batter."

I spent the next few moments watching as the blond fumbled with the contraption, and managed to get his shirt coated with flour in the process.

"Mello-san, have you never…baked before?" I asked.

"_Of course_ I've baked before!" the teen snapped, but the bewilderment on his face – along with the awkward way he was holding the whisk – betrayed him.

"No you haven't," said a cold voice.

The voice belonged to Near. The boy was currently sitting at my kitchen table, assembling another large house of cards.

Mello whipped around to glare at him.

"I _have too_, so shut up, squirt!"

He turned towards me, his face hardened in determination, and fire burning in his eyes.

"There! All sifted! Now what next?"

I gulped.

"Ehm…well, I've got a pot of water boiling for the chocolate chips, so if you want to set up the double boiler and start melting the chocolate, then…"

"Melt the chocolate. Got it," He interrupted, ripping the top off the bag of chocolate chips.

Hesitantly, I began creaming the butter and sugar. I glanced over towards the living room. Matt had curled up on my new couch with his trusty Gameboy.

"Matt-san?" I called, "Are you sure you don't want to help…?"

"I'm gonna pass," he replied, tapping the buttons, "Thanks anyway. Battling a boss monster right now. Tricky sucker."

I looked towards the albino sitting at my table.

"How about you, Near-san? I'll let you lick the beaters…"

The teen's icy gray eyes flickered towards me for a moment, before returning to his tower o' cards.

"I don't like sweets."

"_Bull,"_ Mello hissed behind me, "You're always stealing my chocolate bars when I'm not looking."

"You can't prove that," Near replied in a bored monotone.

Apparently, the blond took this as a direct insult, because the next moment, I saw a piece of chocolate fly over my shoulder and directly hit the corner of the albino's house of cards, which promptly collapsed all over the table.

Near's eyes widened in shock, his hands frozen in the air. The poor kid looked like his world had just ended.

I whirled around.

Mello was leaning smugly against the counter, biting into a chocolate bar that was suspiciously already missing a piece.

"You knocked over my cards," the younger teen said, a note of horror in his usually expressionless voice.

"_You can't prove that,"_ the blond replied mockingly.

"Mello-san, you can't just…!" I started, intending to defend the socially-awkward young albino. But my attention was suddenly pulled elsewhere.

"…wait…did you…_oh no!_ I said to melt the chocolate chips in a double boiler, not _boil_ the chocolate chips!"

Laughter rang out from the living room.

"_Shut up, Matt!"_ Mello snarled.

"N-Nevermind," I said quickly, trying to smile reassuringly, "How about I take care of melting the chocolate, while you…uh…start assembling the batter? Just add four eggs to the butter and sugar, and…"

"I have the recipe right in front of me," the blond huffed impatiently, "I'll just follow the instructions! I'm not _stupid!"_

"…o-okay," I mumbled.

Dear lord. Now I was getting pushed around by a fourteen-year-old. Man, I _really_ need to work on growing a spine…

Near had somehow overcome the trauma of losing his card house, and had put all the cards away. He methodically began to tear a blank sheet of paper into tiny pieces, and began to reassemble it like a jig-saw puzzle.

I saw my chance – perhaps my _only _chance – at engaging the teenager, and took it.

"Oh, so you like puzzles, Near-san?" I asked warmly.

The albino cast a cold glance towards me, and kept on working, not bothering to reply.

Usually, this would've been enough to dissuade me. And technically, I wasn't required to socialize with them; L had just asked me to watch them and keep them entertained. But for some reason, I felt like it was my sworn duty to befriend the young geniuses…or at least _try._

So I swallowed, and tried again.

"Do you like riddles, too?"

This time, he actually paused what he was doing to look at me. I took that as a good sign.

"What isn't alive but grows, doesn't have lungs but needs air, and doesn't have a mouth but can be drowned?"

"…a fire."

It took him less than a minute to solve, but it looked as if I had piqued his interest; Near had begun to watch me intently.

"Right! Um…" I murmured, thinking quickly, "What has four feet but doesn't walk, has two arms but doesn't reach, and has a strong back but never moves?"

That one took a bit longer for him to solve…like, three seconds longer.

"…an armchair."

I racked my brain, and smiled, remembering my favorite – and hardest – riddle.

"Why is a raven like a writing desk?"

To my delight, he didn't respond instantly to that one. Instead, his brow furrowed in concentration. I suppressed a grin. He looked a lot like L when he was deep in thought. Although, he didn't wiggle his toes or nibble his thumb the cute way that my crush did.

Before my train of thought could take off, I caught sight of Mello stirring the batter. Well, stirring isn't quite the word. _Pulverizing_ is more like it.

His whisk clenched in a white-knuckled grip, he was banging it up and down inside the bowl, like he was trying to punch it into submission. What's more, there seemed to be four large lumps in the batter, one of which broke open with a _crunch_ when the whisk smashed it.

"M-Mello-san!" I yipped, hurrying over to his side, "Um, here, let me help you…you stir like this…and…um...are those _eggs_ in there?"

"Of course they're eggs!" He hissed, "'Add four eggs to butter and sugar'! That's what the recipe said!"

"But, Mello-san…" I replied helplessly, fishing out one of the chocolate-coated oblongs, "You're supposed to get them out of their _shells_ first…"

Another fit of laughter rang out from the living room, this time accompanied by a thud, which I can only assume was caused by Matt falling off the couch.

"How foolish," Near mumbled coldly.

Mello didn't even attempt to shut them up that time. He just reddened, and bit furiously into his chocolate bar. He had mastered the art of deranged chocolate eating; he ripped off pieces with his teeth like he was stripping the flesh off the bones of a dead rival. An _albino_ one.

I could tell Mello was fast becoming flustered, and it was unfortunately obvious he had never cooked – let alone _baked_ – a single thing in his life. Of course, he'd kill himself with a hand-mixer before he admitted that aloud. And at the rate things were going, I hadn't ruled out that possibility.

"I-It's no big deal," I said, trying to soothe his embarrassment, "We can just make another batch and try again…"

"_No!"_ Mello snapped angrily, seizing the bowl, "This one is _fine!_ I'll just put the mixer on high! The shell pieces will be so tiny you won't be able to see them!"

The blond seized the hand-mixer, glaring at the batter like it was a dragon he was about to slay.

Speaking of hand-mixers, and the deaths caused by them…

"M-Mello-san!" I cried, "That isn't a good…!"

"_Shut up! I can do this!"_

Then he turned it on. To full power.

_Whiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiir!_

The overly-abused cake batter splattered all over, leaping from the confines of its bowl to soak its blond tormentor. Mello yelped. Thinking quickly, I ran over to the wall and jerked the cord from its outlet. The hand-mixer ground to a halt.

Hearing his friend's cries of distress, Matt appeared in the kitchen.

"_Mello-kun!_ Are you…"

He paused to take in the sight that was my kitchen. Drops of chocolate cake batter were dripping from the cabinets, wall, and ceiling. But the majority was covering Mello's face and chest.

"…okay?" the red-head finished.

Two seconds later, the red-head had doubled over in hysterics.

"Hey! Some…body…order…a…c-chocolate…covered…_Mello?"_ He choked out in between laughs.

Mello angrily rubbed his sleeve over his face, leaving it only partly streaked with chocolate batter. But the action also managed to slick back his blond hair, which was so covered in batter, it stuck straight to his head. Matt just laughed harder.

Near hadn't even moved. He just watched the spectacle, looking mildly annoyed that Mello had temporarily gained the attention of his riddle-maker.

"You truly are an idiot," he announced coldly.

"This isn't my fault! It's _hers!"_ Mello exploded, before stomping over to get in my face. Ordinarily, a fourteen-year-old getting into the face of a twenty-year-old is a bit of a chore, and involves fetching a stepladder. But, as you'll recall, I am a living, breathing munchkin. So the seething blond was actually taller than me.

"This whole mess is your fault!" He yelled, pointing a chocolate-dripping finger menacingly at me, _"Yours!_ Your directions are vague, your instructions don't make any sense, and you don't even pay attention! _You're a horrible teacher!"_

I began to babble miserably.

"I-I…I'm so sorry, I…I d-didn't mean to…!"

"You have no reason to apologize," Near said, his icy gaze not leaving his rival, "The fault clearly lies with your student."

Mello's face twisted in fury. He began stalking towards the albino, murderous rage burning in his blue eyes. I moved forward, though I knew I wouldn't do much good in trying to stop a homicide.

Suddenly, the sound of clapping filled the air. It wasn't the "Bravo!" kind of clapping. It was more the "Order! I demand order!" kind of clapping.

All of us turned around.

Watari had somehow teleported into my living room in the last few seconds, and the stern look on his face let everyone know he was not to be trifled with.

"That is quite enough," he announced firmly, moving forward at a surprisingly quick pace (well, no duh; he _IS_ a ninja, after all). He fixed his eyes on Mello, who seemed to wince from the impact of his withering glare.

"Mello-san, I'm shocked. You trash this young woman's kitchen, and instead of apologizing, you have the audacity to cast the blame back on her?"

"I-I…" Mello tried.

"No excuses!" Watari ordered, silencing the teen, "L will be severely disappointed in you."

I could tell that remark really cut Mello to the core. His head fell, his blond hair falling to obscure his face once more.

Watari shook his head.

"Honestly, Mello-san…you're fourteen years old. You should be able to control your temper by now. You possess one of the most brilliant minds in the world, yet you continue to throw tantrums like a young child. Why can't you be more like Near-san?"

That was the last straw. Mello began to tremble uncontrollably, his hands curling into fists. Without warning, he let out a furious, hurt cry, and stormed from the apartment, slamming the door behind him.

I waited a few seconds for someone to run after him. When no one did, I slowly turned to the others.

Matt was frowning sadly at the door. Near had sat back down at the kitchen table. Watari was rubbing the bridge of his nose, looking weary.

"Should…should we go after him?" I asked anxiously, twirling the end of my braid.

"No," Near replied, sounding bored, "Unless you are an extreme masochist and would like facial reconstruction surgery."

"Yeah," Matt added sheepishly, pulling his goggles off, "It's better to leave him alone when he gets like this."

"Enough about such trivial matters," Near said, turning his gray eyes to me, his face completely serious, "On to more important things. I'm ready to present my theories as to why a raven is like a writing desk."


	12. Involving Angst and Chocolate Cake

'**Ello all! Yes, I'm still sick. It's some kind of bug that's going around. I also ran into a massive writer's block that rendered me useless for a while. But, anyway, enough with excuses! A few quick things;**

**First, I will no longer be replying to reviews. You guys are so awesomely amazing I just can't keep up with PMing everyone! I DO read each and every one (actually, I re-read every one several times), but I figure you guys would rather have me writing new chapters than writing replies ^_^'**

**Second, I had a lot of people asking the answer to "Why is a raven like a writing desk?". The reason Noel asked Near that one is because the riddle has LOTS of answers, thus it would keep him busy longer. Here are my top three favorite answers:**

**Poe wrote on both**

**Both usually have inky quills**

**Because both can produce a flat note**

**Kudos to everyone who recognized that riddle was from "Alice in Wonderland"! Y'all get Noel's famous cyber cookies!**

**Without further ado, enjoy~!**

**000**

After the incident in the kitchen, Watari insisted that I go clean myself up (as I had not avoided the _full _batter assault). I showered and dressed as quickly as possible and hurried out, hoping to catch Watari in the act of cleaning. But, alas, the older gentleman is infinitely speedier than I am. In twelve short minutes, my kitchen had been alakazam-ed back into shiny perfection. I checked everywhere, but there wasn't even one single drop of batter that had escaped his gaze. Even the ceiling had been cleaned.

Yes, my ceiling had been cleaned. Proof positive for all the anti-shinobi muggles out there that ninja-wizards exist, and Watari is their king.

I spent the next hour re-making the chocolate cake, all the while posing riddles to Near, who (unsurprisingly) I was unable to stump once. Mello didn't come back. After the cake was finished – complete with dark chocolate frosting and white chocolate garnish – I gave in to anxiety and went looking for the batter-dipped blond.

It went against my timid nature and the other teens' warnings, but I was going to grow a spine if it killed me. Which, judging by the apprehensive looks Matt and Near had given me, it might.

But it wasn't just me trying to gain some much-needed backbone; I was worried about Mello. I'd seen the look on his face before he stormed out. He was hurt. Livid, but still hurt.

Finding the teen was not an easy task. Finding someone in a thirty-story skyscraper generally isn't, especially when said person doesn't want to be found. Eventually, by a fluke, I found him.

He was on the twenty-seventh floor, which was filled with uninhabited apartments meant for people who might join the investigation in the future. The front door was ajar; apparently, he had slammed the door so hard it bounced back open half-way.

I swallowed, and looked down at the plate I was holding. I hadn't come unprepared; I'd brought a generous slice of the finished chocolate cake as a peace offering. It didn't take a genius to realize that chocolate had a calming effect on the blond. I just hoped I would have time to offer it before he tore out my spleen.

That thought didn't really reassure me. Regardless, I gathered my courage and went inside.

Mello was sitting on the floor of the dark room, leaning against the wall. His head – now clean and blond once more – was resting on his knees, his face hidden from view by his arms in the very picture of teenage angst.

I had only gotten into the room a few paces when his muffled voice emerged.

"Get out, Leon-senpai."

I paused, not sure of how to react. He noticed that whoever was in the room with him hadn't left yet, and raised his head to glare at Leon, only to find me standing there instead.

"Oh. It's just _you,"_ he replied dryly.

I pretended to ignore the comment and took another step forward.

"Can I…come in?" I asked softly.

He regarded me briefly before he turned his head away.

"Do whatever you want," he mumbled.

I nervously inched forward until I was only a foot away. Hesitantly, I crouched down beside him. The blond glanced towards me, and noticed the cake I was holding. His blue eyes widened, then narrowed in scrutiny. He obviously thought the cake was some kind of bribe, something I'd give him after he promised to behave. I could almost see the cogs of his mind turning, formulating a plan, calculating just how fast he could grab the cake and bolt out the door.

Before he could act on any of his schemes, I just simply held it out to him, and gave him a nervous smile.

The teen blinked in surprise, before snatching the plate out of my hands. He proceeded to wolf down the chocolate cake hungrily, even licking the frosting off the fork, before he tossed the eating implements aside.

Both of us sat in silence for what felt like forever. It took all my willpower not to say something to break it, but I remained quiet, my lips tightly locked. I wanted him to be able to talk if he wanted to. And if he didn't want to…well, the awkward silence would continue unabated for eternity.

I had started to believe that would be the case when he spoke up, his voice barely above a whisper.

"…I hate him."

I bit my lip to keep from asking who. I already had my suspicions, though.

Mello raised his head to rest his chin on his arms, continuing to stare at the blank wall in front of him.

"I hate Near," he growled, his voice louder, and filled with loathing, "If it wasn't for him…if he wasn't around, I'd be the best. But since he is, I have to constantly compete against him, have to always claw for attention from L, because I'm second smartest. I'm the _second_ _best_ successor."

Successor. Suddenly, it all made sense. The three brilliant children who knew all about L and Watari and their organization. They were next in line to inherit the title of L. The realization that replacements were already lined up for the man I cared about made my stomach flip-flop. But I forced myself to keep concentrating on Mello.

The blond's eyes fell slowly to the floor, his fingers digging into his sleeves. His voice turned bitter.

"But lately…lately I've been wondering if it's really him I hate. Sometimes I think it's just because…"

His sentence faded off.

"Because why?" I asked softly.

Mello buried his face back into his arms, and was quiet for a few moments before replying.

"…because they _compare_ me to him."

I hesitated. He sounded so miserable, and angry, and hurt. I wanted to wrap my arms around him and hug him, but logic reminded me that probably wasn't the best course of action. He'd probably see any physical contact as a sign of pity, and I don't think that would go over well. I'd probably get my arms broken.

So I just said what was on my mind.

"I know how you feel."

He raised his face to look at me skeptically.

"You know how it feels to be a teenage genius competing with another teenage genius for the title of L's successor?" he asked sarcastically.

I twirled my hair sheepishly.

"Not exactly," I admitted.

"Thought not," he grumbled, and was prepared to continue his mope when I interrupted.

"But...I do know how it feels to be compared."

Mello's eyes darted back to me, a trace of curiosity on his face. I took that as encouragement, and swallowed.

"My mom…she was always the best at everything. She was at the top of her class in school, was the head cheerleader, and even got elected Prom Queen. She's gorgeous, outgoing, smart, and witty. But…well, I'm plain-looking and shy. I had to work really hard to get good grades, and I never got grades as good as hers were. I'm bad at sports, and I didn't even get _invited_ to Prom."

I sighed, letting go of my braid, and adjusted my glasses.

"Even when I did my very best, it still was never as good as my mother. No matter how hard I worked, everyone always always…_disappointed."_

I winced as the word left my mouth. I thought I had been over it already, but it still hurt a little to discuss. I guess you can't get completely over some things.

It was quiet for a few minutes.

"…it sucks, doesn't it?"

I looked over at him. Mello had pulled his head from his arms, and was now sitting up straight, and looking right at me.

"Being compared to someone else," he clarified.

"Yeah," I agreed, "Yeah, it does suck. But…you can't live your life according to what everyone wants you to be. That's why I left, and came here. I wanted to be myself. To be happy."

Mello huffed, his legs sliding to the ground as he crossed his arms.

"I don't think I'll be happy until I beat Near and become L's successor," he grumbled, before his voice quieted, "And I'm starting to wonder if that will ever happen. I've _always_ been second best."

"I don't think so," I said, "You're every bit as good as Near-san."

His head whipped towards me in surprise, his eyes wide. He seemed absolutely floored.

"I mean, if your dream is to become L someday, you shouldn't just give up," I encouraged, smiling, "I know you can do it if you try, Mello-kun. You're very passionate."

He was obsessed, stubborn, and emotional, too, but I chose 'passionate' because it sounded better.

The blond teen continued to gape at me, as if some alien creature had exploded out my forehead and blown him a kiss. And it could've been just my imagination, but it looked like a slight blush had risen to his cheeks.

His gawking was making me nervous, though, and when I get nervous, I babble. So I just kept right on talking.

"B-Besides, in the English alphabet, "M" comes before "N" anyways," I said nervously, "It goes L, M, N!"

A smirk grew on the teen's lips.

"It's nice to hang around someone so dumb," he said, before he realized how that sounded; the smirk vanished, and he hastily tried to explain, "Wait! That isn't what I meant…you're stupider than everyone else, so…_no! _I didn't mean it like that! I just meant…what I'm saying is…!"

Mello fumbled a little more, before his arms fell to his sides, and he closed his eyes.

"…_shit_…" he groaned miserably.

In spite of how insulting everything had sounded, I didn't take offense, because I actually understood what he meant. He liked hanging around someone normal, someone who _wasn't_ a genius.

"It's okay. I know what you meant," I assured.

He opened his blue eyes, gazing quizzically at me. Seeing that I really wasn't annoyed or offended, he relaxed slightly.

"You really _are_ weird," he said, sounding surprised, but not unpleasantly so, "I usually end up pissing everyone off. But I bit your head off and destroyed your kitchen, and you're still being…"

He struggled for the word.

"…_nice."_

"I'm…kind of hard to piss off," I replied, smiling.

The corner of the blond's lips perked up into a small half-smile, before a twinge of guilt passed over his face, and he frowned.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

I raised an eyebrow.

"For what, Mello-kun?"

He ran his fingers through his blond hair, looking almost sheepish.

"For earlier. I…I've never baked before," he admitted quietly. He sounded really embarrassed.

"It's okay," I said quickly, "You did really good for your first time."

"You're just lying to make me feel better," the teen pouted.

"No, I mean it!" I assured, "The first time that I baked anything, I was trying to make a carrot cake, and I dumped whole carrots into the batter because I thought they'd melt in the oven."

Mello stared at me for a second, then burst out laughing.

"_You really are an idiot!"_ He managed.

I laughed along with him, not bothering to tell him I had been four years old at the time. Or that I had already known better than adding eggs still in their shells. I'd rather him think I was stupid, and to feel better.

Because seeing the moody blond laugh was a reward in itself.


	13. Involving Visits, Gifts, and a Fistfight

**Yay! I'm not dead! Sorry this has taken so gosh-darn long. Suffice to say, a bunch of stuff is going on with work and home and family, so my updates won't be as quick. To make up for how insanely long this took, this chapter is extra long! BWAHAHA!**

**But thank you all so much for all your lovely reviews! They made me squeee in happiness. I have the best readers…! ^.^**

**Also, L comes back in this chapter! *sniff* I missed him…! And the next chapter will be very L-centric!**

**Enjoy~!**

**000**

The rest of the day passed fairly uneventfully. Me and Mello succeeded in making a batch of brownies, which he downed himself before nightfall. Watari had prepared three separate bedrooms for the boys, and while Mello and Matt went to sleep at a reasonable hour, Near stayed in my apartment answering riddles until after one o'clock in the morning. Apparently, I had become his new favorite toy.

Not sure I was real happy about that. I'd have preferred to be his friend instead. But, one step at a time, I guess.

The next morning, while I was preparing breakfast, I got an unexpected knock on the door. I opened it to find a brown-eyed woman with pixie-cut black hair standing there, and holding a convenience store bag.

"Ryoko-chan!" I gasped.

"Heya, Shortacake-chan!" She greeted warmly, entering my apartment and kicking off her shoes, "Why do you look so surprised? Don't tell me you forgot today was my 'visiting' day!"

Actually, I had. But it had been a hectic few days.

"Nice place," she whistled, "Geeze, the police force spares no expense, huh? Guess I wouldn't either, if I had taxpayer money to…"

She caught sight of the three teenage boys sitting at my kitchen table and stopped. She glanced questioningly towards me.

"Eh…Shortcake-chan? Did you decide to _adopt_ recently?"

"No, no!" I said quickly, glancing from the teens to my boss, "Ryoko-chan, this is Matt-kun, Mello-kun, and Near-kun. They're – _acquaintances_ – of Leon-kun."

"Leon?" she repeated, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, Leon-kun," I insisted, trying to keep my tone from betraying the anxiety I was feeling, "You know…the one with black hair in loose spikes, who always wears a white t-shirt?"

I accompanied my statement with my best _PLEASE play along and don't rat us out because I swear I'll explain things to you later _look.

Ryoko must have understood perfectly, because she gave me a knowing glance, smiled, and replied, "Oh, _yeah!_ The freaky hunchback!"

I silently sighed and winced at the same time.

"That's the one," Mello sneered, crossing his legs and propping them up on the table.

Ryoko frowned.

"Oi! Blondie! Feet off the table!"

"You can't tell me what to do," the teen replied arrogantly.

"Five fingers and a knuckle sandwich says I can," she replied evenly, shooting him a dangerous glare. It was one of those _screw with me and die_ kind of looks that I had always wished I could learn how to give.

Mello grimaced, but grudgingly slid his legs back down to the floor. Matt snickered quietly at his friend's expense. And I could've sworn I saw the corners of Near's lips curl for a nanosecond.

My boss turned back towards me eagerly.

"I brought you a housewarming present!" she announced, shoving the sack into my hands.

I opened it to find a large box of Lancaster's Dark Chocolate, my favorite kind.

"Ryoko-chan, thank you! How did you even _find _this?" I gasped happily, "I didn't think they sold this brand in Japan!"

"I have my secrets," she replied, grinning.

"You like chocolate, too?" a voice asked.

I turned to see that it was Mello who had asked the question. He was staring at me intensely, as if it was some serious life-or-death question.

"Does she _like_ it?" Ryoko chortled, swinging an arm around my shoulders playfully, "Man, she can wolf down a pound of dark chocolate in ten seconds flat! You'd think her mother suckled her on cocoa butter or something!"

"She's exaggerating," I said hastily, before sheepishly replying, "But I do love dark chocolate."

The blond teen continued to gape at me for several seconds, until he realized he was starring, and turned away. I was almost positive he was blushing a little that time. But why? Huh. Maybe he was daydreaming about chocolate or something.

As I went to conceal my new stash from the blond chocolate fiend, I noticed Ryoko peering over Matt's shoulders.

"Ooooooh, Legend of Zelda…" she murmured, "That's a fun one, too…"

Matt turned back to stare at her, his green eyes wide.

"How did you know that?"

"'Cause I've played it before," she replied.

"Girls don't play video games," the teen said, sounding stunned.

Ryoko grinned.

"I've got a level 87 Vampire Killer on Blood Assault who'd say otherwise."

Matt pushed his goggles back on his head so he could gape at her better, a look of shock on his face.

"_You_ play _Blood Assault?"_

"That's right, Carrot-Top. And I love every gory little detail."

I could sense that Matt's respect for Ryoko had suddenly skyrocketed. He grinned, then rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"So, uh…have you gotten past the seventeenth boss yet?"

My boss chuckled.

"Stuck on ol' Valencross, huh?"

"He teleports every time I turn towards him!" Matt exclaimed.

Ryoko leaned over so she was about eye-level with the teen.

"Well, you're supposed to turn around quickly and shoot him one bullet at a time, but the fight takes hours that way. But I found a glitch," she let that sink in a bit, until he was on the edge of his seat, and continued, "Remember those hanging metal panels?"

"Yeah…"

"Face away from him, and shoot the panels. Every shot ricochets straight back into the sucker's face. As long as you dodge his hand-through-the-heart attack, it's a piece of cake. Of course, that doesn't work in real life."

"What? So you've shot a gun before?" Mello asked sarcastically from across the table.

My boss rolled her eyes.

"Duh. And it doesn't work."

Mello frowned suspiciously.

"Guns are illegal in Japan."

"Blondie, if the Yakuza cared about breaking the law, they'd be florists instead."

The teen's smug look melted into shock. He jumped up, slamming his hands against the table.

"_You were in the Japanese Mafia?"_ He exclaimed eagerly.

"My old man was," she replied, putting a hand on her hips, "But I don't need an organization to cower behind. I'm strong enough on my own."

"Have you ever killed anyone?" he asked, his voice full of excitement.

Ryoko didn't reply; she merely flashed him a smile, and winked. Mello gawked at her in awe like he was starring at some sort of goddess.

I shuddered, and turned to my boss, who gave me her best innocent look. It had long since stopped convincing me, but I decided to ignore that last conversation entirely. The less I knew, the better.

"Ryoko-chan, would you stay here with them for a few minutes?" I asked, packing the breakfast items into a few containers.

My boss grinned like a crazy woman.

"Off to visit _Leon_, are you?"

I blushed slightly, but quickly countered.

"N-No, not right now. I made breakfast for the task force."

Her face softened into a sisterly smile, and patted my shoulder.

"Ah, my little Shortcake-chan! Always thinking of others! Go for it. I'll babysit 'em."

"We do not need to be babysat," Near replied coldly, casting a bored glance at Ryoko.

She waved him off.

"Sure, sure, whatever you say, White-Out."

He frowned heavily.

I scarcely had time to pack up the rest of the stuff before Ryoko shooed me forcibly out the door. I sighed, and looked down at the bags. I had started feeling guilty about only cooking for L. After all, several of the task force now lived in the same building, and I had noticed that they had seemed to be practically living on take-out. Making them a homemade meal every once in a while was the least I could do.

Of course, it wasn't an entirely selfless act. I was actually really hoping to run into L.

I managed to get down to the first level without dropping anything, and unpacked everything in the kitchen. Steamed rice, miso soup, broiled fish, rolled omelet, salad, and toast. I had even made coffee. Or attempted to. I don't drink coffee, so I have no idea how it's supposed to taste.

So, I _think_ that I made coffee.

Anyways.

I went into the monitor room. Chief Yagami, Matsuda, and Aizawa were there, starring up at the monitors. They turned to me when I walked in.

"Good morning, Shortcake-chan!" Matsuda greeted warmly.

"G-Good morning," I replied, smiling timidly, "I…uh…made breakfast for everyone, in case you want any. And coffee…I think."

All the men seemed to perk up a little.

"Oh, great! I'm starving!" Matsuda said happily.

Chief Yagami raised an eyebrow.

"Didn't you say you'd already eaten?"

The young man laughed nervously.

"Yeah, well…I'm actually already hungry again."

He and Aizawa stood up, heading towards the kitchen. In a few minutes they returned, carrying full plates, and Chief Yagami went to get some as well. Matsuda shot Aizawa a boyish grin.

"Good thing Shortcake-chan didn't walk in a few minutes ago, huh, Aizawa-san?"

The man blushed.

"Shut up," he grumbled quietly.

"What do you mean?" I asked, and realized a second too late I probably shouldn't have.

Chief Yagami, who had returned with some coffee, tried to answer delicately.

"Aizawa-san…had a bit of trouble with the metal detector this morning."

Matsuda, apparently, didn't have the same tact.

"You should've seen him!" the young man laughed, "He walked in with his pants and belt in his arms, wearing nothing but his…!"

He was cut off by Aizawa, who cuffed him soundly on the back of the head.

"_Shut up,"_ he hissed, reddening more, before immediately changing the subject, "Uh, Shortcake-san, you're looking for Ryuuzaki-san, right?"

I raised my hands defensively.

"Um, actually, I…"

Matsuda, still rubbing his head, used his free hand to point towards a monitor.

"He's up in Misa-Misa's room. She and Light are having a date."

I looked up.

Sure enough, L, Light, and Misa were sitting across from each other on two couches. Misa looked thoroughly ticked off, Light looked indifferent, and L looked…unhappy.

"_What's wrong with you?"_ Light was asking, _"We moved here to help us catch Kira, but since we have, you don't seem all that motivated…"_

"_Not motivated?"_ L mumbled, before frowning heavily, _"You're right. Actually, I'm depressed."_

I blinked. Depressed?

L was…_depressed?_

I managed to pull myself out of my own thoughts and tried to concentrate back on what Light was saying to my crush.

"…_we have no way to tell if that's the case. Cheer up, would you?"_

"_Cheer up?"_ L repeated quietly. _"No, I'm sorry, I can't. It's probably better if I stop trying so hard."_

He slipped a finger into his mouth, gazing morosely at the ceiling.

"_By chasing Kira so desperately, we're just putting our lives at risk for nothing. Yes…it's just a waste of time."_

I was not prepared for what happened next.

Light rose to his feet, his face covered by his brown hair.

"_Ryuuzaki…"_

My crush turned towards him, and was met with a punch in his face. His body soared backwards, and the chain connecting them pulled Light along for the ride, until L hit the wall and slid to the floor.

My crush starred up at him wide-eyed.

"_You know, that really hurt…"_

"_That's enough!"_ Light yelled, _"So you just don't feel like doing anything, because your genius deduction was wrong and I'm not Kira?"_

"_Perhaps I phrased that wrong,"_ L replied, wiping a few drops of blood from the corner of his mouth, _"I only meant it would be pointless to make a move, so we shouldn't even bother."_

How he could get sucker-punched across the room and still reply calmly, I do not know. My crush must be some kind of Zen master.

"_If you were just going to give up, what was the point of involving all those innocent people?"_ Light shouted, stomping over and grabbing the raven-haired man by his shirt collar, _"Why did you put Misa –chan and I behind bars? Why are you forcing Shortcake-chan to stay here?"_

At that point, I was torn between being touched by Light's concern, or being furious he actually punched my beloved crush. That was quickly resolved when L twisted around in his grasp, and kicked Light in the jaw with such force he was sent flying head-over-heels.

Unfortunately, they were still connected. Which meant L quickly followed after him.

They were thrown into the couch, knocking it over, and Misa looked on, shocked into stunned silence. L pushed himself up into his normal crouch, his dark eyes trained on Light.

"_It's not my deduction that was wrong. I can say for certain that you were Kira, and Misa-chan was the second Kira. But it isn't enough to solve the case, and that's why I'm a little depressed,"_ L hissed, _"Is that so unreasonable?"_

"_Yes," _Light replied furiously, clambering back to his feet, "_Yes it is. Besides, you should listen to yourself! It's like you won't be satisfied unless I AM Kira!"_

"_I won't be satisfied unless you're Kira?"_ L repeated, _"Well, there may be some truth to that…"_

His eyes narrowed, and his voice darkened with bitterness.

"_In fact, now that you mention it…you're right. I WANTED you to be Kira."_

Light swung again, punching him square in the eyes. Even from the monitor, I could see his body trembling from the impact, but this time, he somehow managed to stay standing. He turned his head and body in one smooth motion, before his leg lashed out with another powerful kick, catching Light's chin. Light managed to regain his balance before he toppled over, and sent his fist into L's cheek. The raven-haired man grabbed a hold of the chain at the last second, using his foe to steady himself, and yanked it forward, causing Light to stumble towards him, and thrust his foot into Light's face.

"We've got to do something!" Matsuda cried, turning towards the other two men for ideas. Apparently, neither of them had any.

Geeze. Two police detectives and a police chief, and they can't even figure out how to stop a fist fight.

I seized the nearby phone, and hit the key for Misa's floor. I had no idea what I would say, or if they'd even pause long enough to grab the phone, but I had to do something. I couldn't just watch as they knocked the crap out of each other.

The phones on the monitor began to ring just as L and Light had each other's shirts in their grasp, preparing another blow.

L suddenly dropped Light to the ground, slid into his usual crouch beside the knocked over coffee-table, and gingerly raised the phone to his ear.

"_Yes?"_ He asked pleasantly, as if they had not been beating the tar out of each other seconds ago.

I had expected to go mute at the sound of his soft voice, or at least start stuttering. But I hadn't realized how panicked I was, and the words came out in a high-pitched shriek.

"L-KUN, IF YOU DON'T STOP FIGHTING RIGHT NOW, I'LL NEVER MAKE YOU ANOTHER SWEET EVER AGAIN!"

His dark eyes went wide as saucers. Looking horror-struck, he dropped the phone like it was on fire. Light seemed to have calmed down a little, and gazed down at L, breathing hard from their fight. Curiosity eventually won out over resentment.

"_What was that?"_ he asked.

"_It looks as if we'll have to stop our fight,"_ L replied, easing back into his slump, _"Shortcake-chan is being strangely unreasonable."_

A small smile crossed Light's face as he turned away.

"_It's about time."_


	14. Involving Depression and Spines

**Because ya'll have been so patient with me (and because I happened to have this chapter COMPLETELY outlined) my Muse round-house kicked me into overdrive, and so, my lovelies, I present to you…ANOTHER NEW CHAPTER! Yes! It only took one day to finish! And I must say, I'm quite partial to this one… ^_^**

**This one is a bit more serious, however. But it still has funny parts. XD**

**Enjoy~!**

**000**

That night, I succeeded in lulling Near to sleep around two. I had long since run out of riddles, and had resorted to nonstop games of "20 Questions". He had actually started even playing _with_ me, although even after twenty questions, I still hadn't the slightest clue what it was. Heck, half the time after he told me the _answer_, I still didn't know what it was. Who chooses answers like "Quadratic Equation"?

Oh, right, a genius.

Never play "20 Questions" with a genius.

Yawning, with lids half closed, I trudged towards the elevators with a platter of chocolate-macadamia nut cookies in hand. Entertaining the boys had left little time for baking, and I knew poor L was running dangerously low on sweets. It might be a pain taking them all the way down to the industrial kitchen, but it was still better than him breaking into my apartment in the middle of the night to fill his sweet tooth. And knowing his obsession with sugar, I wouldn't put it past him.

I was rounding the corner when I noticed a light coming from the monitor room. I peeked in.

The room was dark, save for the eerie glow of all the computer screens. L was crouching on a chair, staring blankly into one of the monitors. But the weirdest part?

He was alone.

"Light's not here…" I whispered to myself.

To my surprise – which made me squeak and nearly drop my cookies – a voice answered me.

"Yes. I needed a little time to myself. I'm continuing to observe him through the security cameras while he sleeps."

I had thought L was asleep, but apparently he wasn't, though he didn't turn to face me. I inched up to him, and looked up at the monitor.

Light was sprawled over his bed, the blankets half kicked off on to the floor. He was definitely snoozing.

"But…L-kun…what if he wakes up?" I asked quietly. Looking back, that was kind of pointless. It wasn't like Light could hear us through the monitor.

"He won't," my crush answered, "I had Watari slip sleeping medicine into his drink. He'll be unconscious for at least five more hours."

I gasped.

Not because of what he had said, but because he had turned towards me, and I saw the full extent of the damage their little fight had caused.

Both of his eyes were blackened, his left one completely swollen shut. A line of dark bruises ran up his jaw line into his cheek. His bottom lip had been split open, probably by his own teeth.

"_L-L-kun!"_ I choked out, "You look _awful!"_

He blinked his one open eye.

"Yes, I am aware of that. However…"

The corner of his lips curled slightly.

"…Light-kun looks worse."

That did make sense. Given L's preferred way of sitting – namely, crouching – his leg muscles had to be über developed. For a fair fight, Light would have had to hang from a monkey bar every day. So it was really a small miracle that Light's nose and jaw were still intact.

But that didn't detract from the fact that L looked like he was in a world of hurt.

"S-Stay here!" I said, dropping the cookies down on the desk, "I'll go get some ice!"

A few minutes later, I returned, carrying two bags of ice, wrapped in towels. I handed one to him.

"Here…uh…hold this over your eye, okay?"

L watched me curiously out of his one good eye as I gently pressed the other bag to his swollen jaw.

"Everything will heal in a few days," he said, frowning, "This really isn't necessary."

"Yes, it is," I insisted, "This will help you feel better. I…I-I can't stand to see you in pain."

He stared at me, his eye wide. I blushed, and focused on the bruises staining his face.

It was strange. There I was, alone with my crush, in the dark no less, and I was barely stuttering at all. It looked like all the time I was spending with him was making me less nervous around him. Before, I got so flustered I could barely stammer out a sentence near him.

The realization made me hopeful; maybe one day, I would be able to talk to him like a regular person. Maybe one day, I could finally _tell_ him…

As I worked, something that had been bothering me all day began to gnaw on me more and more. Finally, I gathered the courage to ask.

"Um…L-kun?"

"Yes, Shortcake-chan?"

"Did you…" I hesitated, but finished anyway, "…did you _really_ want Light to be Kira?"

I think the question surprised him, because he blinked.

"Yes," the raven-haired man replied finally, "I did. In fact…I _still _want him to be Kira."

His voice quieted, and took on a note of weariness.

"But…I suppose that's partly out of frustration."

"Frustration?" I repeated.

L turned back towards the monitor, wincing as he did so. He gazed solemnly at the one displaying Light.

"From the start of this investigation, everyone excluding myself has assumed that Light Yagami is innocent, even when the evidence suggested otherwise. As the son of Chief Yagami, he had the respect and trust of the entire task force from the very beginning."

He slipped his thumb into the unharmed corner of his mouth, and began to nibble lightly.

"I, however, was suspected and doubted from our first meeting. I had to struggle to earn the task force's respect. Even now, I know that everyone trusts Light-kun more than they trust me, which proves – _difficult _– to convince them of my theories."

L paused, watching as Light rolled over in his sleep.

"I know that Light Yagami was the first Kira," he said, frustration edging into his usually calm voice, "I _know_ this. Yet, he is still seen as the victim, while I am cast as the villain."

"…you're jealous of him."

L spun towards me, his dark eye wide, looking shocked. I realized a split second later that I had said my revelation aloud, and I felt the color drain from my face.

_Oh my god. Oh. My. God. Did I actually just say that? Did I actually just say that to him? Why THE HELL did I just say that? He's going to hate me. He's going to HATE me!_

I braced myself for what was sure to be the moment he verbally smashed my heart into itty-bitty pieces of mortification, regret, and self-loathing.

But that moment never came.

L continued to gape at me for several seconds, before his gaze lowered, his raven hair falling to conceal his face.

"…jealous?" he murmured, "Hmm…you know, you're right. I _am_ jealous."

His tone turned resentful. The hand that had been resting on his knee dug into his pant leg.

"I know all too well that the task force would rather have Light lead them instead. Foolish as it is, I can't entirely blame them. Everyone Light-kun meets seems to be fond of him. He's socially adept, popular, and, by society's standards, considered very attractive."

He exhaled, his gaze falling slowly to the floor. The bitterness left his voice, leaving it tinged with sadness.

"He is, in effect, everything that I am not."

"_That isn't true!"_ I protested.

The raven-haired man raised his head, looking dejected and slightly confused.

I began fiddling absent mindedly with my braid, but didn't stumble over my words.

"The only reason Light-kun's more skilled with people is because he's had more practice, L-kun, not because he's _better _than you. You're a lot smarter than he is, and everyone on the task force knows that, including Light-kun. And…"

I gulped, my shyness getting the better of me once more. But I said it anyway.

"…_um_…I'm sure a lot of w-women find you attractive."

L continued to look at me for several seconds, before he leaned over slightly. Even with two black eyes, a swollen jaw, and half his face covered, he still took my breath away. His lone obsidian eye gazed into my blue-green ones.

"Do you?" he asked softly.

My cheeks lit up like a roman candle.

I probably would've blubbered and stuttered and fumbled all darn night if the situation hadn't called for an immediate response. Because I knew the longer I waited, the less likely he was to believe me, even if I _was_ telling the truth. But the question had effectively blown a fuse in my brain.

So my hasty response was completely honest.

"_YES!"_ I blurted out, and promptly bit my lip, flushing a shade of neon pink previously only seen in fireworks.

I kid you not, L looked so completely stunned I thought he was going to fall off his chair. Before he had a chance to reply, I made a snap-second subject change.

"A-Anyway," I managed, "You shouldn't let anyone make you feel guilty about being depressed, L-kun. Everyone gets depressed sometimes. You're only human."

The raven-haired man's expression suddenly changed, and he looked even more despondent than he had before. Slowly, he removed the ice pack and set it delicately down on the desk.

"_I_ am," he said quietly, "But L is not. He cannot afford to be."

L turned his chair back towards the monitors. He picked a cookie off of the platter and bit into it half-heartedly.

"Thank you for your concern, Shortcake-chan. I'm sure you are tired. Go and get some rest."

My shoulders slumped.

Well, _great._ I'd tried my hand at cheering him up, and I'd just made him even more miserable. Nice to see my social skills were improving. At this rate, I'd have him contemplating suicide in no time.

Kira would be so proud.

I began a defeated trudge towards the door, and cast one last glance towards my beloved crush.

L was crouched alone in the dark room, gazing forlornly up at the monitors, the cookie hanging from his mouth.

It was bad enough seeing him hurt. My heart just couldn't take seeing him hurt _and_ depressed.

Therefore, I went against my timid nature, fighting against every shy, cowardly fiber in my body, and used the tiny chunk of spine that I had managed to grow.

"And…um…f-for the record, L-kun," I announced loudly, _"I…I-I think you're way cuter than Light!"_

I didn't wait to see his reaction. Because, if you'll recall, I had just used what little backbone I had to force out that statement, leaving me, for the moment, completely spine-less.

So I ran.

Like my ass was on fire.


	15. Involving Yahtzee and Bubble Baths

**I don't own Death Note. I don't own any of the characters from Death Note. All I own are Noel-chan (Shortcake), Ryoko-chan, and the idea for this fanfic. I don't make any money off this whatsoever. Not a penny. So please don't sue me.**

000

I admit, I was kind of expecting the worst after that. I was sure the next time I saw him, he'd speak to me about my odd little outburst. And that made me shake in my bunny slippers.

Because I adore L, and even _I _know his social skills are not the – _ummm _– best.

So no matter what he thought about my declaration, he was gonna tell me. Even if he thought that I was nuts. Even if he thought I was _not_ cute.

Even if he thought I looked like the unholy offspring of a cat and a dog.

Thus the shaking in my bunny slippers. Along with the increased number of appeals I made to the sovereign creator of the universe.

And my prayers were answered. Kind of.

The next day, L didn't say one word about our meeting, my outburst, or the hasty retreat that followed. Not a weird look, not a strange tone in his voice. Nothing.

It was like the conversation hadn't even existed.

If it wasn't for the half-eaten platter of chocolate-macadamia nut cookies sitting on his desk, I would've thought I'd dreamt it.

Light seemed to be completely oblivious to the fact that L had taken a mini-vacation from him the previous night. Apparently, he had woken up re-handcuffed to L, and naturally assumed they'd remained that way the entire night. Judging from the weary look on his face, he could really go for a mini-vacation himself.

Which brings me to Light's face.

He was sporting a lovely pair of black eyes, and both were swollen; one completely shut, the other pretty darn close, forcing him to squint wearily at anything he was trying to see. His lips had been split in three places, and there was a gargantuan bruise that basically covered his jaw and cheeks. His jaw must have been incredibly swollen as well, because he could barely open his mouth to talk, and every time he did, he winced painfully.

L wasn't kidding when he had said Light looked worse than he did. L looked like he had gotten into a fist fight; Light looked like he had been thrown under a _steamroller._

I felt pretty bad for him. After all, it was easy to see that unlike my crush, Light actually cared about his appearance. He'd probably scared himself stupid looking into the mirror. To top it all off, the poor brunette couldn't have been able to see a whole lot out of his one half-swollen eye, because he kept banging into walls. Which led to yelps of pain, and muffled cursing.

Of course, it wasn't like I had a whole lot of time to observe them. L still hadn't been able to find a flight back for Mello, Matt, and Near, so I was still on babysitting duty. Not that I really minded. I was actually growing quite fond of the three teens.

Mello was gradually learning the art of baking, thought many times he lost patience with it and stormed off, leaving me to finish the goodies before chasing after him. But every time – to my complete surprise – I was able to calm him down and coax him into trying again. He'd even managed to convince Matt to join in to help make the current batch of Monte Blanc.

Despite his mischievous streak, Matt was actually a pretty sweet kid, and seemed the most emotionally together of the bunch. Considering how much he loved to joke and tease, he was surprisingly polite to me, Watari, and 'Leon'. And while he didn't necessarily play the peacekeeper, he did always keep Mello from trying to kill Near, which was no small feat.

Near was as indifferent as always, but I'd begun to pick up on his subtle emotions. His lips would twitch when he enjoyed something, such as winning a game of "20 Questions", and his eyes would narrow slightly when he was annoyed, especially when Mello claimed my attention. I was still Near's favorite toy, and he quietly despised having to share me.

I got the immense satisfaction of eliciting a tiny half-smile from the withdrawn teen when I discovered my old _"Yahtzee!"_ game in the remaining moving boxes, one of the few childhood memorabilia I'd brought with me to Japan. I convinced Matt to play with us, and Mello joined purely because Near challenged him. Of course, they only played three times.

Near wasn't satisfied with three games. So I got roped into playing with him fifteen more times. There would've undoubtedly been more rounds, if Mello hadn't interrupted.

He'd been incredibly patient, (well, at least for him), but once Near started our nineteenth round, his patience vanished. The blond stormed over to us, and slammed his hands down on the table.

"That's it!" Mello announced, "You're _done."_

The albino gazed up at him coldly.

"We just started another game."

"You'd have her play that stupid game with you all night if you could!" his rival hissed, "She's done! Can't you see she's tired of playing with you?"

Near frowned, and his eyes narrowed slightly. Uh oh. He was ticked.

"Perhaps," he said in his usual bored monotone, "Shortcake-chan simply prefers my company to yours."

Mello showed his emotions in a decidedly less subtle manner. Namely, he knocked everything off the table and onto the floor. I attempted to intervene.

"Um…guys…?"

Attempt failed. They'd stopped paying attention to me altogether.

"Why the hell would she ever _choose_ to hang around _you?"_ Mello snarled, glaring at the albino across from him, "The only reason she does is because Leon-senpai asked her to!"

"And why do you think she bothers to chase after you when you fly into a rage?" Near replied, his voice growing icy, "You don't think it's because she actually _cares _about you, do you?"

In a heartbeat, Mello's face went from angry to murderous, and I knew reprisals were a'commin.

Matt, who had been listening in, dropped his Gameboy and grabbed Mello by the arms. But the blond was so enraged he jerked free. That is, until I grabbed onto the other arm.

Yes, I had taken action. Probably because I wanted to save Near, even though he had caused Mello's current psychotic state. _Why_ he had said that, I couldn't understand.

I swear, sometimes boys are just dumb. Even genius ones.

"YOU COTTON-HAIRED BASTARD!" Mello roared, thrashing wildly in our grip, "LET ME GO! I'M GONNA KILL HIM! I'M GONNA _KILL HIM!"_

With one final tug, the blond broke free, and charged towards his rival, who looked as if he finally comprehended that that probably wasn't the smartest thing to say. Mello wound up his fist and sent it flying towards Near's face.

Except it never made it there.

Instead, a hand caught it. The hand in question was attached to an arm in a black suit. And the arm in the black suit belonged to a very peeved-looking ninja-wizard.

Watari glared down at him silently. Mello froze, a shiver going up his spine. Then, slowly, he relaxed, and quickly moved a few paces backwards, all the while looking at the floor. The older gentleman fixed Near with the very same glare. The albino went rigid, fear passing over his normally expressionless face. No words were exchanged, but both boys looked like they'd been told they were going to have their hinnies thoroughly whooped.

Because, apparently, ninja-wizards are telepathic.

Watari turned to me, and suddenly, his face was benevolent, although slightly weary.

"Shortcake-chan," he said, "Why don't you take a bit of a break?"

I blinked.

Well, that was random. Although, circumstances what they were, escaping was certainly tempting.

"Are you…sure…Watari-san?" I said helplessly.

"Of course," he replied, "Leon-kun sent me to relieve you. Take some time to relax and enjoy yourself. Boys, _come."_

Although he had said _boys, come_, his tone made the message_, get your asses out in the hallway while you still HAVE asses._

They got the message loud and clear. Matt all but sprinted into the hall, leaving Watari to lead Near and Mello out, with a hand firmly grasping the shoulders of each. And I was left alone.

Unfortunately, being alone meant I had no distractions to keep my mind occupied. So no sooner had the door closed, then my brain was filled with turmoil. Worry. Doubt. Anxiety. And a generous helping of fear.

Somehow, through all the emotional clutter, I had one competent thought.

_I want a bubble bath._

I frowned.

Where the _heck_ had that come from?

But, for once, probably because I realized just how exhausted I was, I didn't even try to figure it out. I just went with it.

Bubble baths always calm me down. It's one of the few things that do, actually. Well, that and dark chocolate. And curling up with a good shoujo manga.

So fifteen minutes later, I was undressed, soaking in a hot, ridiculously bubble-choked bath, popping Lancaster dark chocolate into my mouth with one hand, and reading a volume of _Alice in the Country of Hearts._

I stretched out contentedly. After the insane, completely out-of-control last week and a half I had had, this was just what I need. Heck, since I had become L's chef, it was the only relaxation I'd really gotten.

And then it was gone. Because my mind began to wander to the only topic that seemed to ever grace my brain any more.

L.

His handsome face, his captivating eyes. The way he gently nibbled on his thumb. How his dark, raven hair fell over his face, and how silky it looked. His dazzling smile, the one that lit up the room. His perfect fingers, and what I'd give to hold his hand in mine. How soft his pale lips might be, and what it would feel like to have them press against mine just once…

Blushing madly, I jumped up in the bath, nearly dropping my long-forgotten manga.

My train of thought was going places it was _neeeeeeever_ meant to go, and I needed to snap myself out of it. My crush was getting out of control. _Way_ out of control. I'd been confident that after a few days – a week, maybe – of constantly being around L, my infatuation would start to fade. After all, nothing kills fantasies like real life.

But it hadn't gone away. If anything, it had gotten stronger.

And, truth be told, I wasn't even sure if it was just a crush anymore.

Could it really be…love?

I sighed miserably, and sank down into the bubbles, gurgling into the water. After a bit of wallowing in self-pity, I sat back up, struck with sudden clarity.

I needed to call Ryoko.

000

The phone rang several times before she answered.

"Ryoko-chan? It's me."

"_Heeeeey, Shotcake-chan! It's good to hear from you!"_

"I'm sorry to bother you, Ryoko-chan," I apologized, twirling a strand of my wet hair (for once _not_ in a braid) in-between my fingers. I was out of the bath now, lounging on my bed in my fuzzy robe, "You aren't still at the bakery, are you? I can call back…"

"_Shortcake-chan, you could never bother me. Besides, I'm already home. What's the matter?"_

Her voice suddenly grew dark.

"_Wait…none of those squirts said anything mean to you, did they? 'Cause if I have to come over and box Blondie's ears, you just say the word…"_

"No, no! No one said anything!" I said hastily.

The fact she thought she'd have to come defend me from the bullying of three young teenagers spoke oodles about my wimpy-ness.

"_Oh, good,"_ she replied, her voice brightening back to her usual cheerfulness, _"So…what's up?"_

I took a deep breath, and exhaled.

My boss chuckled over the line.

"_Boy troubles, eh?"_

That's Ryoko for you. Sharp as a diamond-edge saw. Or possibly telepathic. Maybe she'd been taking lessons from Watari.

"…kind of," I admitted meekly.

I could almost hear her grinning.

"_So, lay it on me. Tell me all about it."_

I flopped back on my bed, starring glumly at the ceiling.

"It's just…" I began, before the words started gushing out, "…I can't stop thinking about him, and I have no idea what he thinks about me, or if he even _does_ think of me, and it's driving me crazy, and now I don't even know if it's just a crush anymore, and…!"

"_Whoah, whoah! Slow down!"_ Ryoko chided, _"What do you mean? Do you think you're in LOVE?"_

I paused, before my head fell in defeat.

"Well, I...I-I don't know. I've never been in love before. How…how am I supposed to tell…?"

"_Hmmmmm…"_

I could hear my boss chewing her lip thoughtfully.

"_I guess there are a few ways to tell…but you gotta answer these questions truthfully, okay?"_

I quickly nodded, before realizing Ryoko couldn't see me.

"Oh, sure. Of course."

"_Okay,"_ she said mater-of-factly, _"First off. If Ryuuzaki got in an accident and was horribly disfigured – I'm talking, like, missing an eye, paralyzed from the waist down, half his face burned off – do you think you'd still feel the same about him?"_

That was hard to think about. Mostly, because the thought of L being badly hurt made my stomach flip cartwheels.

"I-I think so," I replied shakily, "I mean…even though his body looked different…it would still be _him, _right?"

"_Mmmhmm. Now, next question," _Ryoko said, "_Do you want Ryuuzaki to be happy, above all else?"_

I answered that one immediately.

"Yes. Yes, of course I do!"

"_Even if that means that he'd end up with someone else?"_

I froze.

"_If you couldn't make him happy, and another girl could,"_ she continued, _"Would you want them to be together, and have a wonderful life, even though that would mean you'd be all alone?"_

My mind raced. Would I?

Would I really want L to be with someone else, someone who could make him happy? Even though I'd be left alone? Or would I wish him to be every bit as miserable as I was?

I thought carefully, and finally, slowly, I formed my reply.

"I-I…yes. I'd…I'd want Ryuuzaki-kun to be happy…even if he wasn't with me. I…I-I'd be really hurt…and lonely…but…"

I swallowed.

"…but I'd deal with it…as long as I knew he was happy."

A few moments of silence followed. Then…

"_Shortcake-chan?"_

"Y-Yeah?"

"_You're in love."_

I closed my eyes.

"Crap," I whimpered.


	16. Involving Self Pity and Mood Swings

After the conversation with Ryoko, I simply laid on my bed, starring up at my ceiling. I didn't even bother to get out of my robe. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I remembered that Watari was stuck caring for Matt, Mello, and Near in my absence, but still, I remained motionless. I needed time to think.

Or, rather, I needed time _not_ to think. I needed time to have my thoughts sink in.

Love. I was in love.

_Crap._

I was in love with L, the world's greatest detective.

_Double crap._

I was in love with L, the world's greatest detective, who was currently trying to catch Kira, a god-like serial killer.

_Triple crap._

I flipped an arm over my eyes and groaned. My life sounded like the plot of a freakishly awful romantic tragedy.

Why him? Why did it have to be _him?_ Why couldn't it have been a nice, normal guy, a businessman, or a dentist, or even a psychiatrist? Why did I have to fall in love with a socially awkward genius? One who had decided to handcuff himself to his prime suspect?

Because _that_ was a smart plan. Heck, he already knew Light had been used by Kira. What was stopping him from being used again? Say, to strangle L to death with the handcuff chain?

I wasn't sure when I had started lightly banging my head against my headboard, but I kept it up. With each thud, my mind repeated the same word.

_Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap…_

This was bad. This was so very, very bad. So many things could go wrong. Why in God's name had I fallen in love with a suicidal genius?

Oh, right. Because Life hates me.

Stupid Life.

I was jerked out of my shameless self-pity by a wholly unexpected sound. It sounded like banging on my door.

I blinked.

Huh? Hadn't L said my bedroom was soundproof?

I raised my head slightly.

In fact, my bedroom WAS soundproof. That sound had actually been the door slamming closed, behind the person who had just run in.

I didn't even have time to register who it was before a dark blur came catapulting towards me.

"SHORTCAKE-CHAAAAAAN!"

Something heavy and warm slammed into me, knocking the air from my lungs and the glasses from my eyes. I laid there in shock, trying to regain my breath. A female body was now hopelessly entangled with my own, her arms and legs wrapped around me in a death grip. The aforementioned female was sobbing into my robe.

I peered at her. I couldn't see a darn thing, other than splotches of blond and black. But the upset voice sounded familiar.

"M-Misa-chan?" I asked meekly.

000

I patiently waited until she had finished before trying to pull myself out of the heap. I finally located my glasses on the floor, and excused myself long enough to go get on some actual clothes. She'd nearly pulled my fluffy robe clean off with her frenzied hugging.

When I returned, she was sitting on the edge of my bed. Misa looked horrible. Her eyes were pink and wet with unshed tears, her makeup smeared over her face, courtesy of my robe.

Warily, I sat down beside her, just out of her reach. Of course, my attempts at creating healthy space were for naught, because she simply scooted over beside me.

"Misa-chan, what's wrong?" I asked.

The girl hiccupped pitifully.

"L-Light-kun…I wanted to see him so bad…then when I did, I-I…he just looked so horrible! I wanted to make him feel better…so…so I…I started kissing his boo-boos…b-but I guess I got carried away, 'cause he started screaming…"

I winced. Light's face was basically one massive, swollen bruise. And I had a hard time picturing Misa being 'gentle'.

"…and…and then he started yelling at me, and he…h-he said..." She paused, before choking out, "…that I was _stupid!"_

Misa buried her face in her hands, sobbing.

I admit, I was kind of at a loss as to what to say. I could have rebutted Light's claim, but, well, honestly, he sort of hit the pin on the head. I felt like a horrible human being for thinking that, but I knew full well I was a less-than-convincing liar, and opted to not comment.

I simply put a hand on her back and rubbed gently, offering silent comfort as she cried. When the tears receded, she continued.

"_Misa doesn't understand!"_ she sniffed, rubbing her nose, "My managers…my producers…they always told me to play dumb. They said boys think a cute girl playing dumb is a big turn-on! B-But Light-kun…he doesn't seem to like it at _all!_ Misa's never been called _'stupid'_ before!"

Something seemed to dawn on her, and Misa sat up straight, looking horrified.

"_What if Kira thinks I'm stupid __**too?"**_

Well, if the waterworks had been on before, then the dam had burst now. Tears gushed out down her cheeks. The supermodel seized me again, burying her face in my shoulder, as I did my best to consol her.

"Misa-chan," I said finally, "Misa-chan, why do you care what Kira thinks about you?"

She pulled herself from her shoulder to gaze at me with wide brown eyes.

"Misa _worships_ Kira," she said, her expression saying that I should clearly know this.

I balked.

"B-But he _kills_ people!"

"That's why Misa worships him," the blond girl replied, wiping a few tears and some eyeliner off her face. She folded her hands sadly on her lap. "Misa's parents were murdered, and Kira killed their murderer. That's why I love him."

I stared at her, my heart welling with pity. So that was it. Her family had been killed. No wonder she clung to Light so desperately. A boyfriend was a source of love she so desperately craved. But I knew Light would never be able to fill that hole in her heart. Not when he felt nothing for her in return. And Kira…

"I understand," I said softly, my brow furrowing, "But…I'd think you wouldn't love Kira anymore."

Confused, Misa blinked.

"What do you mean?"

"Kira isn't just killing criminals now," I explained, "He's killing innocent people, too. People with families, and children. He may have started out with noble intentions, but now he's just as much a murderer as the man who killed your parents."

The girl stared at me in shock. I was a little shocked myself. I couldn't believe something that insightful had come out of my own mouth.

Her gaze fell to the floor.

"I never thought about it that way…" she murmured, but her contemplation didn't last long. She quickly jerked back up and shook her head furiously.

"No, no, no! Misa can't think about that right now! Misa has to figure out a way for Light-kun to like her!"

The blond whirled around to face me.

"Do you have any ideas, Shortcake-chan?"

"Um…well…"

My pause wasn't for lack of ideas; it was because I was trying to figure out a tactful way to say them. I spoke slowly, and carefully.

"You could…try not speaking in third-person."

"Shortcake-chan doesn't think the way Misa-Misa talks is cute?" the supermodel replied, clearly taken aback.

Actually, I thought it was annoying as hell. But, again, I was a bad liar, so I bypassed the question entirely.

"W-Well, Light-kun might not like it."

"Oh, you're right!" Misa gasped, nodding, "Misa-Misa will try…"

She froze, and corrected herself.

"…_I_ will try."

"And, uh, maybe…just maybe…you should not hang onto Light-kun so much," I suggested, "Guys like to have their space sometimes."

A look of horror crossed her pretty face.

"But how will Light-kun know I love him?"

"Oh, he _knows,"_ I replied, and managed to keep most of the exasperation out of my voice, "Just…you know…try to give him a little more room."

"So…what you're saying is…" Misa said slowly, a smile spreading over her face, "I should play more hard-to-get! That makes sense!"

She thought a bit, and a smile parted her lips.

"Maybe if Misa-Misa – um, I – ask Ryuuzaki-kun nicely, he'll let me have those handcuffs after he's done with them! I can think of a million funs ways Light and I could use…!"

Suddenly, she stopped, blinked, and quickly turned towards me.

"Oooooh! Shortcake-chan! What's going on with you and Ryuuzaki-kun? Have you told him yet? Have you kissed? Have you done _other_ things?"

I didn't reply right away. Her questions had rendered me beet-red, and I was still dizzy from her violent mood swings.

The supermodel had latched onto my arm by that point, and was rocking us back and forth.

"Tell me, tell me, _tell me~!"_ she sang.

"M-M-Misa-chan!" I finally squeaked, pulling away, "No! It's not like that! I-I…"

Misa blinked, a pout appearing on her face.

"Awww, so you haven't done anything? Lame…have you even _told_ him yet?"

A memory from the night before flitted through my head.

_"And…um…f-for the record, L-kun, __I…I-I think you're way cuter than Light!"_

"K-Kind of," I mumbled shyly, taking a sudden interest in my carpet, "I…um…I told him I thought he was really cute."

The blond beamed, letting out a happy squeal that quite nearly popped my eardrum.

"YAAAAAAAY!"

Misa looked at me expectantly, but when she saw the look on my face, her grin faded.

"What? He didn't say anything _back?"_ She asked.

"No," I sighed, "Nothing. I'm…well, I'm not even sure he…really understood."

Misa exhaled in frustration, blowing her blond bangs up into the air.

"You know, for how smart Ryuuzaki-kun is, he can be really dumb," she grumbled, "Boy…you told him you thought he was cute and he still didn't get it…geeze…"

Another angelic smile lit up her face, and she grabbed my hand, giving it a pat.

"Don't worry, Shortcake-chan! From now on, Misa-Misa is on the job! I'm gonna get you two together!"

I barely managed to stifle a groan.

The hyperactive, emotionally-unstable psycho model was going to play matchmaker.

Oh goody.


	17. Involving Unexpected Confessions

Misa skipped off after that, probably to another photo shoot. I emerged from my apartment soon afterward, fully dressed and hair re-braided, and went to find Watari and the genius posse.

I found said posse hanging out in the nineteenth-story lounge. Watari was drinking tea and reading the paper. Matt was playing his Gameboy, Near was making another card house, and Mello was brooding in a corner.

All three boys paused what they were doing and looked up at me.

"Shortcake-chan," Matt said in surprise, "You actually came back?"

Watari took a sip of his tea, and set it down.

"There's really no need, Shortcake-chan. I've volunteered to take care of the boys. Leon-kun wanted you to take the rest of the day off."

I smiled.

"It's okay, Watari-san. I like being around them."

Everyone stared at me, Watari included. Matt even slid his goggles back on his head to gape at me better.

Their silent, unwavering attention made me downright uncomfortable.

"B-Besides," I added nervously, "I promised Mello-kun I'd make chocolate truffles with him later."

The blond looked up at me with his blue eyes wide, before quickly looking away.

"You're still gonna make truffles with me?"

"I promised, didn't I?" I replied warmly.

A smile spread over Watari's face, and he chuckled.

Mello stood, his blond hair falling to cover his face, and walked over to me. He stood there for a moment, before speaking.

"…sorry."

I blinked in confusion.

"I said I'm sorry," he mumbled. He turned his head to glance down at me, and I saw that he was purposefully avoiding my eyes. The teen ran his fingers through his hair. "For earlier. I kinda lost it, and…I didn't mean to get you involved. So…sorry."

I really thought his apology should be aimed at Near, whom he had been trying to throttle, but there was _veeeeery_ little chance of that happening. Plus, I was kinda touched he even thought about me.

"Oh, no, it's okay!" I assured quickly, waving my hands for no good reason, "D-Don't worry about it! And…"

My voice softened.

"…Near-kun was wrong. I do care about you."

A pink blush suddenly sprouted on the blond's face. He stared at me widely for a few seconds, before jerking away, focusing his attention on a nearby blank wall.

"Whoah, _seriously?"_ Matt exclaimed, "After all the crap we've put you through?"

"It's been – uh – pretty exciting," I giggled nervously, "But of course. I care about all of you."

Matt grinned a boyish grin.

"Yeah, I like you too, Shortcake-chan. You're pretty cool. Even _if_ you don't play video games."

Near had paused building his card house, and was gazing at me. His face was almost expressionless, but his normally cold eyes seemed warm. I think he was at war against being upset I'd proved him wrong, or being happy I cared about him. Happiness seemed to win out, because his lips quirked up into a tiny-half smile.

"Yes. I'm fond of Shortcake-chan as well. She is entertaining."

"H-Hey!" Mello cried out, "I like her too! Near-bozu, you _jerk!_ You made me go last, so now she'll think I don't like her as much as you do!"

Near began twirling a strand of hair absentmindedly.

"Then you should've spoken up sooner, Mello-san," he replied, sounding bored.

Startlingly enough, Mello didn't start shouting obscenities at Near. Instead, he spun towards me, looking flustered.

"I do care about you! I-I…I actually…!"

The blond teen was interrupted as L and Light appeared in the doorway. Well, technically, he was interrupted by Light. If you'll recall, the brunette's sight had been restricted to one half-swollen eye, which meant he couldn't see well at all. L, who still had one eye functioning perfectly, had taken the lead, pulling Light along by the handcuffs that attached them. But either L didn't remember his charge was temporarily vision-impaired, or didn't care, because he made no attempt whatsoever to help the brown-haired Adonis avoid obstacles.

Which, in this case, was a wall.

The result was Light holding his battered face in agony, hissing cusswords. L didn't even seem to notice.

"Shortcake-chan?" he said, a note of surprise in his voice, "Why are you here? I informed Watari to relieve you of your caretaking duties for the rest of the day."

"Oh, that's okay," I assured, "We already made plans, so…"

"Shortcake-chan and I must finish our game of _Yahtzee,_" Near interrupted, gazing coldly at L.

Mello shot the albino a burning glare.

"Not before she makes truffles with _me_," he snarled.

"I call a spatula!" Matt added, glancing up from his game.

L frowned deeply. Almost immediately, I figured out why he had insisted on me taking the rest of the day off. It wasn't out of concern for _me._

It was out of concern for his sweet supply.

"I'll make a batch extra for you, Leon-kun," I said.

He perked up instantly, a small smile flickering over his lips, before his emotionless mask returned.

"Thank you, Shortcake-chan. I realize these last few days must have been difficult for you, but after tomorrow, you can return to your regular duties."

A look of horror passed over Mello and Matt's faces. Even Near looked slightly unnerved.

"Wait. _What?"_ the red head asked.

"_You're sending us back?"_ Mello cried.

L didn't even blink.

"This shouldn't come as a surprise. I've been trying to send you back for the past 59 hours. However, for the past three days, all the flights to England have been canceled due to maintenance issues."

His dark eyes trailed over to the red-headed, goggle-clad teen.

"You wouldn't have had anything to do with that, would you, Matt-san?"

Matt gave a weak, nervous laugh, his eyes roving around for a nearby exit. Mello raised an arm protectively in front of his friend.

"He hacked into the Airport Security systems?"

The person who asked the question was Light, who was staring at the young teen in surprise and mistrust. L cast a glance back at the brunette, as if he had completely forgotten about the young man he was handcuffed to.

"Light-kun, I will need to speak to L-sama's fanclub in private."

He blinked.

"Oh. Uh, okay."

It didn't dawn on Light – or anyone, for that matter – just what exactly that implied, until L had drawn something from his pocket, and popped off the lid. That something just happened to be a hypodermic needle.

Poor Light didn't even get a chance to register what was happening before L shoved it into his neck. Instantly, his eyes rolled back in his head and closed, and he fell limply to the floor.

I let out a yip of shock, and jumped back.

"_L-L-Leon-kun!"_ I choked, _"What did you just…?"_

"A mild sedative I always keep on my person, just in case," L replied, re-capping the needle and slipping it back into his pocket, "He'll wake up in an hour or so, groggy, but otherwise unharmed."

I stared at him, mouth agape. I thought that was a perfectly acceptable response to what had just happened. But no one else had a similar reaction.

Watari simply sighed, and set his paper down to go pull Light up. Matt frowned and stepped back, as if worried Light would drool on his shoe or something. I don't think Near even blinked.

"L-sama's _fanclub?" _Mello exploded.

Yeah. Someone just got a needle jammed into their throat, and was lying drugged into unconsciousness on the floor, and that was all Mello got out of it.

I think I've figured something out. Everyone involved in this organization is insane.

"An acceptable alias, albeit not a very original one," Near replied coldly.

"In any case," the raven-haired man continued, acting as if nothing had happened, "I have chartered a private plane for the three of you. You will leave tomorrow at five-thirty p.m."

Mello's gaze fell to the floor, his hands tightening into fists.

"This isn't fair," he murmured angrily, "This isn't fair…we traveled all this way…!"

Matt stared pleadingly at my crush.

"L-Leon-senpai…can't we at least stay until L-sama gets back? Please? We don't even have to meet him face-to-face! We could just…!"

"You will leave tomorrow at five-thirty p.m.," L repeated.

The teen fell quiet, his shoulders drooping.

"Leon-senpai does not want us impeding L-sama's investigation," Near said, resentment hidden in his cold voice.

A flicker of emotion passed over L's eyes.

"Do not misunderstand. We are chasing down a dangerous killer, one who has no remorse. He would kill anyone he deems a threat."

He paused, his voice softening.

"I only wish to keep you three safe."

"_Bullshit,"_ Mello growled, his face twisted in anger and disappointment, "You just want us out of your hair. L-sama and Shortcake-chan are the only ones who give a damn about us."

Watari frowned, obviously saddened by his words.

"Mello-kun…"

"What? It's the truth!" the blond replied, his glare never leaving L, "Well, guess what, Leon-senpai? One day, _I'm_ going to be L, and you'll work for _me._ And you sure as hell will have to care about me _then!"_

"If you become L, I will no longer be here," the raven-haired man replied quietly.

An unconscious shiver ran up my spine. But Mello didn't catch the true meaning of his words.

"_Cocky bastard,"_ The teen hissed, but the disappointment at being sent back must have outweighed his anger, because he grabbed a hold of my hand, and began dragging me down the hallway. "C'mon, Shortcake-chan. Let's go. I really need some chocolate."

Near and Matt followed behind us, equally upset in their own way. I glanced back at my crush. His face was unreadable and emotionless. But I could see the sadness in his eyes.

000

The next afternoon, Watari, L, Light, Mello, Near, Matt, and I were gathered in the building's lobby to say goodbye. Even Ryoko had showed up, much to the delight of Matt and Mello (and much to the chagrin of L and Near).

I was sad. I admit it. While I was happy to be able to go back to my normal routine, I was honestly upset that they had to leave. I had been telling the truth; I really _did_ care about them. And I knew I was going to miss those three dysfunctional, emotionally-unstable geniuses, even if I wouldn't miss the constant fights and death threats.

"Man, this sucks," Matt sighed. The red-head had actually pocketed his trademark goggles, and was glancing gloomily at the car that was going to drive them to the airport, "Our whole trip was for nothing. And Roger's gonna be _pissed."_

"He'll be upset with us about hacking into his computer files and leaving the country, but I'm certain he'll be more upset when he learns Mello-san stole his credit card as well," Near said, twirling a strand of his white hair.

Matt groaned, and rubbed his head.

"I forgot about that. Yep, we're totally screwed."

"Yeah," Mello agreed half-heartedly. He'd been staring at the pavement for the last ten minutes, at least. I think not being able to meet L – or know he'd already _met_ L – was the hardest on him, out of all three.

"It'd suck a lot less if Shortcake-chan could come back with us," Matt added, flashing a boyish grin, "Then I wouldn't be the only one to keep you from killing Near-bozu. Plus, her cooking could prevent a lot of your brood-fests."

Mello looked up long enough to shoot him a glare. Matt just chuckled.

"Well, maybe I can visit sometime," I suggested, smiling hopefully.

The three teens seemed to wilt a little.

"Y-Yeah, maybe," Matt offered weakly, but I could tell that visiting probably wasn't an option. I guess it was stupid to even think that it was. They were the three possible successors of L, after all. Wherever they lived was probably built like a fortress. With lazer cannons.

I bit my lip, before I got an idea. I pulled out a scrap of paper, and hastily scribbled something onto it.

"Well, until that happens, you can have this," I said, handing the paper to Mello, "It's my phone number. You know, so we can talk, at least."

"And ask riddles," Near said.

"Or play 20 Questions," I replied.

The corner of his lips curled slightly, and he went back to twirling his hair. Aw, man. I hope he didn't pick up that habit from me. Oh well. They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Maybe I wasn't just his favorite toy, after all.

"We can call you?"

The question had come from Mello. He'd lost interest in the pavement, and his blue eyes were now fixed on me.

I smiled at him warmly.

"Of course. Whenever you want to. Oh! I almost forgot!"

Remembering what I had brought, I handed him a small paper bag tied with ribbon. The teen peered inside.

"Chocolates," he said, eagerness in his voice.

I smiled.

"Well, I, uh, noticed that last night, the ones we made together were…um…_gone,_ so I made some more for the plane flight."

I tred the subject as carefully as I could, because the majority of the truffles had mysteriously vanished from my apartment, driving Mello into a nearly explosive rage. A tiny chocolate smear on the lips of L told me who the real culprit was, but I wasn't about to announce it.

"What are these other ones?" Mello asked, still looking into the bag.

"Those are Lancaster Dark Chocolates," I said, twirling the end of my braid, "I know you really love chocolate, and those are the best."

He looked up at me, his eyes wide.

"You…you gave me your favorite chocolate…?" He asked softly, as if it was completely unbelievable. Actually, to Mello, it might have been. I could see World War III starting if someone ever attempted to take away one of his chocolate bars.

The blond slowly lowered his hands to his side, clutching the bag in a death grip. His long hair fell in front of his face.

"Um…Shortcake-chan? I…I-I have something I wanna tell you…" He mumbled. His voice was completely void of his normal brash confidence, and he almost sounded…shy?

"What is it, Mello-kun?" I asked.

"I-I…uh…_damn_…remember when I…told you that I do care about you? What I wanted to say…what I meant was…_shit…why is this so hard?"_

The blond looked up at me, and I saw that he was blushing fiercely. He continued avoiding eye contact.

"What I meant was…" he repeated shakily, "That I…I-I…"

The teen paused, and mumbled something unintelligible.

Matt gently elbowed him in the side.

"Hey, Mello-kun, she can't hear you," he whispered.

"If you have something you need to tell Shortcake-chan, you must speak loud enough for her to hear it," Near said in a bored monotone.

Suddenly, Mello's gaze shot up and locked with my eyes.

"I-I…I SAID I WANT YOU TO BE MY _GIRLFRIEND_, DAMMIT!" he cried.

The room went silent, everyone starring at the two of us.

I had not been expecting that. In fact, it was so unexpected, my brain had to reboot itself before I could even respond. After a few seconds, my mouth began to work again.

"Um…_what?"_ I managed helplessly.

Suddenly, a hysterical laughter broke the silence. I turned to see that my boss had doubled over in a fit of guffaws.

Mello reddened even more.

"_Shut up!"_ He yelled, "Can't you see I'm being serious?"

Ryoko's laughs lessened into chuckles, and she wiped a few tears from the corner of her eyes.

"It…it isn't that Blondie…" Ryoko managed, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye. She took a few steps, until she was next to us, and faced Mello, her arms folded, and a wide grin on her face.

"So, you've got a crush on Shortcake-chan, eh?"

"It isn't a crush!" Mello argued, glancing away, "I…I really like her."

She gave him an appraising once-over.

"You're pretty darn young for her, don't you think?"

"Maybe now," he admitted, "But in a few years…"

"You do realize that you'd have to buy her gifts, you know?" She continued, mischievous amusement glittering in her eyes, "Jewlery, flowers, even chocolates. And you'd have to have the willpower to give her the box without touching a _single one."_

The blond seemed to pale a bit at the thought, but didn't waver.

"Like I said, a few years!" he insisted.

Ryoko leaned over so she was eye level with the teen.

"And you'd take good care of her? You'd protect her, no matter what?"

Mello set his jaw in determination, meeting her stare.

"I'd blow up a warehouse if I had to," he promised darkly.

Grinning like a mad woman, Ryoko stood back up, and turned to face me.

"I approve," she announced.

The reason I hadn't objected during the entire conversation was because my brain was still frantically trying to sort out what had just happened. It was just starting to dawn on me when my boss wrapped an arm around me and pulled me close, throwing a devilish smile to Mello.

"In five years, if she's still available, this blushing bride can be all yours, Blondie."

"_R-Ryoko-chan!"_ I choked, pulling myself free. My brain had caught up with the conversation, apparently.

Suddenly, there was a person in between me and Mello. Specifically, a tall hunchback with raven-colored hair.

"I'm afraid not, Mello-san," he said, his voice firm, "Shortcake-chan belongs to me."

Surely I couldn't have heard that right.

No possible way.

L hadn't just said…that he _liked_ me, had he?

Before my cheeks could reach the infrared range, the gorgeous man had to ruin my happy delusion by continuing.

"As long as I own her contract, she is employed by me. And I will not allow you to have a relationship with her. Her time is better spent elsewhere."

_In the kitchen._ He didn't say it, but he might as well have.

My momentary fantasy shattered as an unhappy thought slapped me in the face. Did…did L think of me just like Near did? Was I just his favorite toy?

Mello had started a one-sided shouting match with L, but I wasn't even paying attention anymore.

The first guy to ever, EVER confess having romantic feelings for me, and he was a fourteen-year-old super genius with serious anger issues. And to top it all off, I had realized the guy I was in love with might just think of me as his personal Easy-Bake oven.

_Dear God._

If I actually did drink alcohol, I swear, I'd have died that night of liver failure.


	18. Involving Showers and Cabin Fever

A month. A whole, freakin' month. Six weeks since I got mixed up in this weirdness, and four weeks since Mello, Matt, and Near had left.

And what, you may ask, happened in those four weeks?

Nothing. Goose-egg. Zilch. Nada.

A big, stupid, load of _NOTHING._

Let me elaborate.

Basically, the Kira case had been put on hiatus. They had no new leads, ideas, or theories. They hadn't stopped trying to find some, of course, but the lack of progress was getting the whole task force down, especially Light, because it was starting to look like he'd be stuck handcuffed to L until the trumpets sounded.

L was, by far, the most depressed. Most of the time he didn't even put up the illusion of trying to work. He'd just crouch on his swivel chair, starring off into the ceiling, wallowing in emotional muck.

And speaking of wallowing in emotional muck…

Yep. You guessed it. That's what I was doing, too. Because as far as I knew, the man I was in love with might think of me as living, breathing, dessert cart. Of course, I _hoped_ that he didn't. His reaction when I called him a friend, and the fact he talked to me willingly gave me hope, but then again, maybe he just thought of me as a _friendly_ living dessert cart.

To add to my woes, I had made zero progress in figuring out L's favorite dessert. Because, honestly, the guy seemed to like _every_ dessert. Slap enough sugar in it, and he'd eat it. No, seriously, I mean it. He'd chow down on toe nail shavings if you dipped them in chocolate and sprinkled enough powdered sugar on top.

Ugh. Gross analogy. But probably true. Again, gross…and scary.

Ahem. Anyways.

Misa was true to her word. Unfortunately.

Seeing L's lack of social skills as the root of the problem, she began giving him lessons. They usually went something like this:

"Okay, Ryuuzaki-kun, so when you go to kiss a girl, don't make eye contact. Instead, look at her lips until the last possible moment. That way, you don't miss, and your eyes look really dreamy. Well, most guys's do. Yours are kinda huge and, um, freaky, so maybe that isn't a good idea. You should just close your eyes. Oh, and girls really respond to touch, so when you're kissing, or before you kiss, reach back behind her head and slip your fingers into her hair. Or you could put your arms around her waist. Doesn't matter. You can be creative. As long as you don't touch below the waist. Unless she _really_ gets into it…"

The "lesson" would usually continue like this, with Misa giving him unwanted romantic advice, and him pointedly ignoring her, until either L, or, usually Light, kicked her out. After a while, she realized that wasn't really working, and switched tactics.

Which involved her decorating a dark room with candles, satin sheets, and rose petals, and somehow dragging me and L into it.

The first time it happened, I quite honestly almost died. I swear my heart didn't beat for a full minute.

L just blinked a few times, and cast a _your hormone crazy girlfriend must have done this for you_ look at Light Yagami, who turned scarlet, cleared his throat sheepishly, and suggested we quickly leave. He probably expected a naked Misa to burst from the closet and jump him right then and there.

It had happened five times already, each time with the same awkward result. And after each time, I was met with a pouty-faced blond model, sulking because her "brilliant" plan had failed yet again. Honestly. What the heck was she expecting to happen?

Things probably would've been a lot easier if I would've been able to tell L how I felt about him. But, my backbone was still a spindly little thing, and telling him I found him attractive had nearly shattered it into oblivion. So telling him I loved him? Kind of off the table for now.

So, to sum up: no change in the Kira case, no change in L's emotional state, no change in our relationship, no change in backbone growth.

A big, stupid, load of _NOTHING._

Well, I guess there was one change.

I was going stir-crazy.

I guess it was kind of stupid of me not to think it would happen. I mean, for all intensive purposes, I was under house arrest. I couldn't go outside, or even leave the building. At least before, we'd rotated hotels, and I'd get the chance to breathe fresh air every few days, if only on the way to the car. But now that we had a permanent headquarters, I was stuck in a thirty-story prison.

It didn't help things that I was lonely. Ryoko had had the flu for a week and couldn't visit, but it wasn't just her. I missed everyone; Miki and Sakura from the bakery, my neighbor, Daisuke, Mrs. Hojo, the sweet landlady from my apartment complex.

Maybe more than anyone, I missed Mello, Near, and Matt. I didn't even know why; I'd only known them a few days, after all. That wasn't even long enough to really get to know them, let alone form a lasting bond. Plus, I was terrible with kids. But there were some times I'd lie on my bed, wishing I had played a few more games of _Yahtzee!_ with Near, or showed Mello how to make filled chocolates, or had Matt show me how to play a video game. And I had come to the unhappy conclusion that I'd gladly trade all my peaceful, routine days for a few more strife-filled ones with the three of them. Even _with_ the added stress of Mello's feelings for me.

I hadn't received one phone call from them since they'd left, not even one to let me know they'd gotten back safely. Maybe that was one reason I missed them so much.

You never realize how much someone means to you until they're gone.

Whatever the case, a Wednesday evening found me washing my dishes in the kitchen. I must have looked as dejected as I felt, because suddenly, I heard a voice from beside me.

"Are you feeling alright, Shortcake-chan?"

I whirled around to see Watari, who had somehow silently infiltrated the kitchen in the last two seconds.

"Oh, yes, I'm fine," I lied quickly, trying to sound convincing.

It didn't work. Watari frowned, looking down on me with a fatherly gaze.

"Really? Because I've noticed you've been nursing your feet for the past few hours."

I silently swore. Damn that Ninja-Wizard's observational skills! The truth was, my ankles were killing me. I'd been overworking myself a ton, and as I've mentioned before, feet don't like standing on tile ten hours a day. I thought I'd been hiding my pain rather well. Apparently not.

Before I could object, lie, or change the subject, Watari slipped the dish I was washing out of my hands and began to scrub it.

"You've done enough work today, Shortcake-chan. You should go rest. I'll take over from here."

I was too tired to protest, and gave him a drained smile.

"Thank you, Watari-san."

He smiled warmly, and nodded.

I trudged towards the elevators, one of which I rode back up to my apartment. L had dismissed the task force early due to lack of work, but I'd gotten no such break. Of course, it wasn't like I'd take it even if he offered. Even the mere thought of L being bereft of sweets made me shudder.

Maybe I was just an Easy-Bake oven to him, but, darn it all, I was a good Easy-Bake oven, and I'd be cold and dead before he was forced to eat store-bought desserts.

Of course, with Kira involved, that was always a slight possibility.

Suddenly, I became aware of the all-too-familiar layer of flour, leavening, and powdered sugar on my skin, and headed for my bathroom. A nice long shower was just what the doctor ordered.

I hopped in, and soon, the whole bathroom was good and steamy. I sighed in contentment, feeling as the hot water melted away the anxiety and melancholy of the day.

It's weird, but in a long shower, my problems never seem as bad. Oh sure, my crush thought no higher of me, and my spine still took a microscope to see, but for some reason, the warm water made it seem not as big of a deal. For the first time all day, I actually relaxed, and decided to enjoy myself.

Bad call.

Immediately, I heard the sound of the bathroom door being flung open, followed by a feminine shriek.

"_SHORTCAKE-CHAN!" _

The next thing I knew, I'd been yanked out of the shower, and a sheet had been flung over my head. I cried out in surprise, and would've fallen right on my butt, had someone not been holding on to me.

I struggled a bit, and managed to pop my head out while keeping the rest of the sheet around me. I quickly saw my tormentor was a gorgeous blond with pigtails.

"M-MISA!" I yelped, _"What…?"_

But the girl wasn't even looking at me. Instead, she was glowering viciously up at a corner of the bathroom ceiling. A corner that held an inconspicuous little device.

Which happened to be a security camera.

"RYUUZAKI, YOU PERVERT!" Misa shrieked at the camera, clutching me tightly against her, "YOU SICK, TWISTED, _PERVERT!_ GO TO HELL!"

The girl seized my container of shampoo and chucked it at the camera. However, her aim sucked, which resulted in her following up her failed shot by hurling my conditioner, which hit the intended mark, and broke the gizmo clean off.

Misa then spun around to face me.

"That pervert was watching you on the monitors downstairs! Misa-Misa _saw_ him! So Misa had to come save you!"

My heart did a cannonball into my stomach.

"_W-What?"_ I choked.

L was watching me? L saw me _NAKED?_

_Oh no. No, no, no, no, this can NOT be happening. No way. H-How long has that camera been there? Was it there since we moved here? Has he watched me __**EVERY TIME?**_

So, technically, he'd seen my scrawny, less-than-ample assets dozens of times. Oh joy.

No wonder he had no interest in a relationship.

_Oh god. O-O-Oh god. Let this be a nightmare. Please let this be a nightmare. Let me be asleep, or have passed out, or gotten in an accident and be in a coma somewhere! __**Anything!**_

No such luck.

Misa was still prattling, but I'd effectively gone into shock at that point. The room was spinning. I shakily sat down on the toilet seat, clutching the sheet closer to my dripping body.

God, I hate Life.


	19. Involving Tears, Candy, and Weak Ankles

Misa eventually left me to my own devices, stomping out in a way that said she was clearly still pissed. I wished I could be pissed. The whole situation would've been better if I could get mad, march right down to the monitor room, and shove the lemon custard pie I had previously made into his gorgeous face. A very tiny part of me actually wanted to.

But I _couldn't_ get pissed. I was a Kira suspect, after all. It made sense that L would be watching me. I was just too much of a naïve idiot to consider it.

So, instead of anger, I was overcome with grief and humiliation. After finally collecting myself somewhat, I retreated into my bedroom and got dressed. I did so in the closet, because if there were cameras in the bathroom, there were no doubt ones in my bedroom as well.

And I felt crappy enough without him seeing me nude again, _thankyouverymuch._

But my emotional turmoil culminated when I went into my living room, and found L himself standing just inside my door.

His pale face was emotionless, his captivating eyes unreadable. In fact, the only thing about him that could be called _expressive_ was the new, vibrant red handprint he was sporting on his left cheek.

Apparently, Misa had taken it upon herself as my self-appointed "best friend" to avenge my honor.

Unfortunately, I was not expecting to find him in my living room. And his sudden appearance in my apartment made me let out a squeak of surprise, and jump backwards. Upon landing, my overworked ankles promptly went out, and I toppled to the floor in an undignified heap.

I'm not new to embarrassment. If you've been paying an ounce of attention, you've noticed I'm kind of a veteran. I have more experience with humiliation than most ninety-five-year-olds. But I was having what could only be described as a hellish day, and falling on my butt in front of the object of my affections was just icing on the cake.

And I couldn't take it anymore.

Tears welled up in my eyes, and, as hard as I tried to stop them, started streaming down my cheeks. I fought the urge to sob uncontrollably, but my whole body shook anyway.

_Oh god_, I thought miserably, _Now I'm crying. I just went to pieces in front of L. He's going to think I'm __**pathetic!**__ He's going to want nothing to __**do**__ with me!_

Mmmhmm. That's how my brain works. He goes all "Peeping Tom" on me in the shower, and I worry about crying in front of him.

Yep. It's official. He's got me whipped. Like _whipped cream._

Bracing myself, I finally managed to gather the courage to look up at him.

I had expected his face to be painted with either disgust, or his usual indifference. But there was neither of those.

L stared down at me in horror, his eyes wide with shock. He had pulled his hands from their normal place in his pockets, and extended them both half-way towards me, as if he wanted to do something, but had no clue what he _should_ do. The raven-haired man stood frozen in that position for several seconds, before finally speaking up.

"…w-wait right here," he stammered – actually _stammered_ – before all but sprinting out the door.

His hasty retreat made another wave of embarrassment wash over me. Well, great. I'd scared him off. It shouldn't have been that surprising. After all, L wasn't really good with people, so dealing with emotions must've been _waaaaaaay _out of his comfort zone. He'd probably run off to go get Watari.

I vainly tried to rub the tears from my eyes, because at that moment, the _last_ thing I needed was to look like a blubbering idiot in front of another person I respected.

A minute later, L reappeared, his arms full to bursting with multi-hued wrappers.

I blinked, and soon found myself swimming in a sea of candy. No, seriously. It looked like L had raided his own personal candy stash and dumped part of it over my head. Judging by how many different languages there were on the wrappers, I suspect that is _exactly_ what he did.

L quickly crouched down directly in front of me, and picked up one of the candies between his thumb and forefinger.

"You should eat the chocolate first," he said anxiously, expertly unwrapping the sweet, "It contains the most endorphins and mood-enhancing components. I eat a lot myself when I'm depressed. Here."

He leaned over, delicately pressing the chocolate to my lips.

I just kind of stared at him. I didn't even blush. Because honestly? My brain had given up. It had gone out of business, packed up, and went to Hawaii on vacation.

The reason for this was L's transformation. My crush had dropped his indifferent mask altogether, and starred at me with more emotion than I ever remembered seeing on his face. Remorse, concern, fear…they were all there, growing more pronounced each second I stayed comatose.

Was L actually…trying to _comfort_ me?

It took only another look at him to realize that he was. Even though he had little to no experience with such things, that wonderful, beautiful man was trying to comfort me, the only way he knew how.

I was apparently still crying, because liquid was still dripping down my face. L pressed the chocolate a little harder to my lips.

"You need to eat it," he said, a twinge of pleading in his voice. He opened his mouth, mimicking what he wanted me to do, "Ahhhhhhh…"

Luckily, my instincts kicked in enough to follow his lead and open my mouth a tiny bit.

He quickly popped the chocolate in. I chewed slowly; it probably was fantastic, but I honestly didn't even taste it. I was too busy starring at my crush.

"I'll give you all this candy if you stop crying," L assured, wincing slightly. I couldn't tell if it was from seeing me a complete wreck, or from offering up some of his candy stash. Probably the later.

Eventually, I swallowed the chocolate, which jarred the last tear free from my eye, and it rolled down my cheek.

He must have taken that as a refusal, because a flash of panic crossed his face.

"There isn't enough," he murmured, looking down at the mountain of sweets. He stood up quickly, turning towards the entryway. "I'll go get more."

My spine must have grown a little more when I wasn't looking, because before he could leave, my hand shot up of its own volition and caught his wrist.

The raven-haired man froze, starring down at me in surprise.

"N-No…you don't have to…" I managed, wiping away the remaining tears, "This is plenty…I d-don't need any more…

I looked up at him, and smiled reassuringly.

"S-See? I've already stopped…"

Relief spread over his handsome visage, and he sunk back down into a crouch. Realizing I was actually _holding on to him_, I blushed noticeably and quickly let go.

We sat there in silence for a few moments, before he finally spoke.

"I didn't intend to upset you," L said quietly, "I actually came here to offer an apology."

I blinked.

"You came to…apologize?"

L shifted uncomfortably, studying the candy scattered on the floor.

"Yes. There is surveillance equipment in every room of this building. Since we are pursuing Kira, it is a necessary safety precaution. However, I understand that, like me, you value your privacy. And Misa-chan _informed_ me…" he paused to gingerly rub the palm mark on his face, and I knew exactly what kind of "informing" Misa had done, "…that you did not appreciate having your modesty compromised. She further suggested that I was a sexual predator, and that you'd never forgive me if I did not come and apologize immediately."

He leaned forward, resting his hands on his knees.

"I apologize for causing you undue emotional trauma. Let me assure you that I acted with complete professionalism, and am in no way a pervert."

L lowered his head to stare at me from underneath his mess of black hair.

"Do you forgive me?" he asked softly.

In truth, I'd forgiven him before I'd even started crying. But even if I hadn't, those huge, gorgeous eyes of his would've convinced me to. I mean, he was just as gosh-darn cute as a baby panda. Heck, he was _cuter_ than a baby panda.

And that puppy-dog look of his could've melted the heart of Adolf Hitler.

"Oh, um, yes, of c-course," I sputtered, twirling my hair shyly, "I mean, I understand why you did it. You do think I…well, might be Kira."

L's lips curled into a relieved half-smile, before he began to root through the candy.

"Actually, it would be more accurate to say that I _thought_ you might be Kira."

He selected one delicately, stripped off the wrapper, and popped it into his mouth.

"But now that I've had ample time to study you," he mumbled, chewing the candy, "I've concluded that you cannot be Kira. You are no longer a suspect, Noel-chan."

I stared at him. Don't get me wrong, I was thrilled to not be a suspect anymore; I was just a bit preoccupied with something else.

"Y-You just…you called me by my _real name!"_ I realized aloud, stunned.

He swallowed the candy.

"Yes. Ryoko-san told me that you do not enjoy being called by your nickname, because you think of it as an insulting reference to your short stature. For your own safety, I will continue to refer to you as 'Shortcake-chan' among the rest of the Task Force, but when we converse privately, I will call you 'Noel-chan'."

L paused in the middle of choosing another candy, glancing at me.

"Unless you do not feel comfortable with me calling you your true name?"

"NO!" I said hastily, and a bit too loud. I quickly looked down, blushing, and twirling my hair. "N-No…I…I like being called 'Noel'."

That wasn't quite the truth. I didn't _like_ him calling me Noel.

I LOVED him calling me Noel.

His melodious purr of a voice made my name sound…I dunno…elegant and beautiful, like it belonged to some refined flower of a woman who bathed in champagne.

My insides turned to a warm puddle of mush every time he said it.

The raven-haired man gave me that adorable smile of his, and I inwardly melted. He carefully pulled another confection from the floor, unwrapped it, and held it out to me.

"Here," he said, dropping it into my hands, "You should eat some more chocolate."

I blushed, and slipped it into my mouth.

This time, I did taste it. And wow, was it _amazing. _Judging by the quality, it had to have cost a small fortune. But, considering he had a skyscraper built and furnished, I kinda figured money wasn't really an issue for L.

"Mello-kun would love this," I said absentmindedly, and instantly regretted it. Memories of the three dysfunctional geniuses flooded into my head, and my eyes dropped to the floor, shoulders slumping.

_Wonderful._ Like my emotions weren't in enough of a jumble as it was.

L must have noticed, because when I glanced up, his eyes were wide.

"Is there…something wrong with the chocolate?" He asked.

"Oh no, no, the chocolate's really good," I assured, forcing a smile, "I just…"

I faltered, sheer will keeping me from bursting into tears again.

"…I was just…wondering…why Mello-kun, Matt-kun, and Near-kun haven't called me yet. T-That's all."

I expected L to instantly rationalize why they hadn't, or even stay silent and keep munching on candy.

But he didn't.

Instead, he frowned heavily, a flicker of guilt passing over his dark eyes.

"Ah," he said, and I noticed that his monotone voice sounded a bit strained. He unhappily lowered his newest candy selection to the ground, and remained quiet for a few moments.

"Perhaps it would improve your current emotional state if I informed you that they _have_ called you. Eighty-three times, in fact."

My eyes flew open.

"_H-Huh?"_ I stammered.

L had taken a sudden interest in reading the back of one of the Russian candy wrappers.

"I took the liberty of having their calls forwarded to my personal number. I did not want them to bother you."

Translation? _I didn't want them distracting you from making me cake._

"They don't _bother_ me!" I exclaimed, my heart lightening, "I-I really like talking to them! And they won't distract me! I _promise!"_

L raised his eyes slightly, and gave me a small, almost coy, smile.

"That may be best. After the _conversation_ yesterday, I had to have Rodger restrict Mello-san's access to explosives and packing materials."

Before I even knew it, my lips had curled into a grin, and I giggled. I began to twirl my hair again.

"Um…L-kun? Thank you."

Apparently, L thought I meant for giving me the candy, because he merely nibbled on his thumb.

"I'm glad the chocolate helped."

You recall how I discovered earlier my spine grew a little bit? Well, I guess it had grown more than I thought.

"It…it wasn't the chocolate that cheered me up," I replied softly, my cheeks flushing, "It was you."

L stared at me, his dark eyes as wide as saucers.

"Me?" He repeated, stunned.

My instincts urged me to shut up and bolt out the door, but I remained stationary, and forced myself to continue.

"Y-Yeah…just being around you…m-makes me _happy_, L-kun."

He gaped at me like I'd just told him I was Kira, and I killed people with the magical powers of a pink unicorn.

I blushed noticeably, and began climbing gingerly to my feet.

Unfortunately, I underestimated how weak my ankles still were, because as soon as I fully stood, they promptly gave out again, and I stumbled forward.

L must have tried to catch me, because the next thing I knew, I was laying on top of him on the floor. L stared up at me, his obsidian eyes almost as wide as my green-blue ones were. My cheeks instantly reached the hue of a ripe tomato.

I tried to apologize, but all that came out was a strangled squeak.

Frantically, I began trying to somehow get off him, which, seeing has how my limbs had turned to jell-o, was pretty darn hard. I somehow managed to push myself up when the door flew open.

"Shortcake-chan!" Ryoko's voice rang out cheerfully, "I'm not puking my guts out anymoooore~! I brought those things that you…"

My boss saw us and froze.

What followed seemed like an eternity of excruciating silence. Then it ended in a way I saw _so_ not expecting.

Because Ryoko began laughing like a mad woman.

I'd kinda been waiting for her to freak out, like she had the first time she thought she saw…something she hadn't. But apparently, _me_ being on top of _him_ was just fine and dandy.

"OH HO HO, SHORTCAKE-CHAN, YOU MOVE FAAAST!" she exclaimed giddily, "DON'T LET ME BOTHER YOU! HEE HEE HEE! HAVE FUN~!"

And with that, and a quick thumbs-up, Ryoko went skipping away, slamming the door behind her.

L's dark eyes slowly roved from where my boss had been standing back to me. It was probably my imagination, but his cheeks appeared to be ever so slightly tinged pink.

"I think," he said slowly, "Ryoko-san misinterpreted our proximity."

The only thing I could manage to do was let out another pitiful little squeak.

L frowned, a wince crossing his face.

"…Noel-chan, I would appreciate it if you did not tell Ryoko-san that you cried earlier. I'd like to keep my anatomy intact."


	20. Involving Shopping and Corsets

There is a long list of ways to wake someone up pleasantly. A gentle murmur in the ear, a light shake of the shoulder. Maybe even a little tickle on the foot.

But having someone jump up and down on your bed shrieking is not one of them.

"GET UP, GET UP, GET UP! WAKIE, WAKIE, SHORTCAKE-CHAN~!" A female voice rang out, in a pitch so high that dogs three blocks away were probably whining in pain.

After jumping out of my skin and yelping in fright, my poor groggy mind tried frantically to make sense of what had just happened. I didn't have my glasses on, and the sudden burst of blinding light that came when someone threw on the lights didn't help matters. I scrambled around in a panic, and finally shoved my glasses on to see Misa, still tittering excitedly, roving through my closet, and throwing random garments on my head.

"_M-Misa-chan…!"_ I croaked, casting a look at the clock, which mocked me with a bright neon _5:02 am_ on its display. _"W-What are you…?"_

"C'mon, silly! Get dressed! We're going SHOPPING~!" she practically sang, lobbing a pair of jeans at my face. I barely ducked in time.

"Shopping?" I repeated, most likely looking as bewildered as I sounded. "But, Misa-chan…we can't…!"

The blond bounced over to me, leaning over to eye level, grinning ear to ear. With a flourish, she produced a folded scrap of very-official looking paper, and pushed it so close to my face it almost touched my nose

"Ta-daaa! _See?"_ Misa asked, auburn eyes glittering happily, "It's a day pass! Ryuuzaki-kun gave it to me! We'll get to spend the whole day out, just you and me…well, and Matsuda-kun, but we can just ignore him…"

My brain was still trying to catch up. I mean, c'mon. I was just woken up at an ungodly hour by being all but bounced out of bed. It was a wonder my brain was even _working._

"Ryuuzaki-kun…he's letting me have a day _off?_ _Outside?_ " I gasped, starring at her wide-eyed, "H-How did you get him to…?"

She giggled, winking mischievously.

"Misa-Misa has her _ways_, Shortcake-chan…"

Meaning? She either guilt-tripped, threatened, or just annoyed him into giving her one. Probably a combination, with a good helping of mood-swings and plain ol' fashioned crazy.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't excited. I hadn't set foot outside in more than a month, and the idea of spending an entire day out in the crisp autumn air was enough to make me bounce off the walls like a ten year old on a sugar rush.

Then I realized that also meant I'd be spending an entire day with Misa. Shopping.

With Misa.

Suddenly, being trapped in an apartment building didn't seem that bad. At least I knew I'd survive.

Unfortunately, Misa was not about to be dissuaded from her plan, and made it obvious that resistance was futile by shoving my purse in my arms and dragging me out of my bedroom. I didn't even get my blouse on until we were in the elevator.

I'm sure you're wondering why I didn't protest to being forced out of bed at five in the morning and arguably kidnapped. Don't get me wrong, I did consider it. There were just several reasons I didn't speak up. Number one, I didn't want to hurt Misa's feelings, and I'm pretty sure nixing her plan for spending the whole day shopping together BFF-style would do just that. Number two, as you'll no doubt recall, that crazy girl scares the crap out of me. And number three, I am a spineless weakling. Coupled with reason number two, those were enough to make me keep my mouth shut even _without_ reason number one.

So, less than an hour later, I found myself walking down the sidewalk of a shopping plaza, Misa-chan on my left, her hand clenching mine in a friendly but possessive grasp, and Matsuda-san on my right, nervously rubbing his neck and laughing awkwardly as Misa rambled on and on and on.

"…so _I _said, 'No way! I don't do nude covers! Only my sweet Light-kun can take pictures of me naked!' Then _he_ said…oooooh! Here's one of my favorite boutiques!"

I could instantly see why it was one of her favorites. Everything in the windows was goth-lolita style. Though, with a name like _The Devil's Corset_, I don't know what else it could be. I'd long had a theory that there was nothing in Misa's closet without lace, bows, straps, buckles, or occult references. And there was the proof.

I began to sweat. Surely she didn't plan on sticking me into one of _those_ kind of dresses, did she? Heck, a regular dress wasn't flattering on me, let alone one of those buckled-up, frilled numbers!

"Misa-chan…" I began, but I was interrupted before I could even voice my concern.

"…but the store next to it is our first stop," The supermodel finished, pointing to the expensive-but-normal-looking boutique beside it.

I suppressed a sigh of relief, and let her lead me inside. Matsuda followed after us meekly. Misa glanced back at him, a tell-tale glint in her eyes.

"First things first!" she announced loudly, _"LINGERIE!"_

I'd never seen someone's face pale and blush at the same time before, but that is exactly what happened to Matsuda. Desperately muttering some kind of excuse, he high-tailed it for the men's section. From his speed, I gathered that if we'd been on the second story, he might've dived out a window to escape.

I blinked, looking at her in wonder. I mean, sure, my cheeks were a tiny bit pink, but this is _me_ we're talking about. I'm blushing eighty percent of the time anymore.

"Is…is Matsuda-san really that shy?"

Misa gave me an impish grin.

"Oh, one time I had him help me pick out sexy lingerie to wear for Light-kun. I kept asking if they 'turned him on' or not. Now whenever Misa-Misa wants to shop in peace, she says she's picking out lingerie."

My mouth fell open in shock.

"_MISA-CHAN!"_

"I know!" she giggled proudly, "Aren't I evil? Tee-hee! Oooooh! This is really cute!"

She held up a silky black t-shirt, which might have been cute, had the neckline not plummeted down to reveal at least half the wearer's breasts.

"Err…I think that would look better on you, Misa-chan," I declined politely, edging away a step.

She blinked.

"What do you mean?"

"It's just…well…" I said sheepishly, fingering my braid, "I don't really feel – _confident_ – enough to wear something like that."

Well, the actual word I was thinking was 'slutty', but confident sounded better, especially since I could definitely see Misa wearing it. Provided lace and buckles were added.

The blond's stare revealed that she still didn't get it. I struggled to elaborate.

"I, uh, prefer to leave some…things…to the imagination."

Misa cast a critical eye at my blouse and jeans.

"Trust me, Shortcake-chan, guys don't have _that_ _much_ imagination."

She quickly steered me towards another section, grinning.

"Don't worry! Misa-Misa is here to help! We'll have something cute for you in no time~!"

'No time' ended up being about five hours. After a quick lunch of crepes from a street vendor, Misa dragged me back into the fray. When we finally emerged from the last shop, poor Matsuda's arms were laden with bags of clothes that I'd never wear. My only consolation was the fact my self-appointed 'best friend' had generously bought everything.

I was utterly exhausted. And not just from Misa, as surprising as that sounds. Nope. A good portion of my exhaustion was because of me. Worrying. About L.

Specifically, L's sweet supply.

If I had known I'd be gone, I would've made double the sweets the day before. But I hadn't, so I didn't. Which meant that there was a good likelihood that he'd polish off the last piece of cinnamon coffee cake well before I got back. I'd never seen my beloved crush deprived of sweets, but I was certain it wouldn't be pretty.

I'd even snuck off when Misa wasn't looking and bought him a few strawberry Daifuku cakes to hold him long enough for me to whip up a batch of cookies. Yes, I was _that_ worried.

But, at long last, my suffering – both worry and Misa-induced – was finally over, and we were headed for home.

Thinking I was finally in the clear, I allowed myself a brief, relieved smile. At least she hadn't got me into a goth-lolita dress.

Life obviously did not approve.

"Oh, Shortcake-chan! Misa-Misa almost forgot _The Devil's Corset!_ There's this gorgeous dress that you'd look _so cute_ in…!"

Oh, god, help me.

000

When we got back inside headquarters, I tried to pull a 'Hail Mary' and make a break for the kitchen. But Misa, who had obviously honed her skills on Light, grabbed my wrist before I could dash, and dragged me towards the elevator.

"MAKEOVER TIME~!" She sang, dragging me into the elevator with Matsuda, and pressing the '19' button.

I gave Matsuda my best _please-for-the-love-of-all-that's-holy-HELP-ME_ look. The shaggy-haired man looked appropriately apologetic and ashamed, avoiding my gaze in a way that clearly said that I was on my own. I couldn't really blame him. I had seen Misa angry first-hand.

Saying its terrifying is a vast understatement.

So when we came to my apartment on the ninteenth floor, and Misa began hauling me towards the bedroom, Matsuda gave me another silent apology, dumped the bags on the sofa, and with a relieved good-bye to us both, headed for the elevator, most likely to report my capture to L.

"Go on, change into your new dress!" The supermodel giggled, shoving the sack and me towards the bathroom, "Misa-Misa will have everything ready when you get out!"

"O-Okay…" I agreed miserably.

Truthfully, I didn't want to change into my new dress. I wanted to lock it away where I'd never see it again, or maybe put it in a trunk and sink it to the bottom of the ocean, or set it on fire. The last thing I wanted to do was change into it. But trying to reason with the model was as pointless as trying to teach a rock how to swim.

The only thing I could do was appease her, and hope that the quicker I did so, the quicker our "day out" would be over with.

So I changed into the monstrosity.

Okay, so the dress wasn't that bad. It was a lot more 'lolita' than it was 'gothic'. It was just…completely polar opposite of anything that I would wear. It had a corset, for one. It also had bows, frills, and ended much higher above my knees than I wanted it to. And of course Misa had picked out matching shoes, stockings, and a garter, which I had _no idea_ girls still wore anymore. I guess I should've just been happy it wasn't black (it was white, with pale pink trimmings) or decorated with skulls.

After a few moments, I summoned the strength to take a quick peek in the mirror.

I looked like an antique doll. A very thin, very embarrassed antique doll.

I gave a little moan, and dejectedly walked out of the bathroom, thanking god that at least no one would see me like that. After our little 'talk', L had kindly removed the security cameras from my apartment. In fact, the only security camera on me was the one in my industrial kitchen, which he insisted stay. He seemed to think that if keeled over dead of a Kira-caused heart attack, it would happen in that kitchen. Seeing as I spent most of my time there, that did make sense. But I also think it had something to do with getting to watch me make his desserts.

The word 'obsession' doesn't even _begin_ to cover that gorgeous man's relationship with sweets. And that camera supplied him with his own personal cooking channel.

Anyways…

Misa was ready and waiting in the dining room. She'd apparently dashed back to her floor while I was changing, because the table was scattered with a large assortment of make-up and beauty products.

I anxiously slipped into the chair. The blond stood above me, brandishing a hairbrush in one hand and a tube of lipstick in the other, and grinning at me like a mad scientist. Seriously. If a flash of lightening had illuminated her silhouette, I wouldn't have batted an eye.

"Alright, Shortcake-chan! Time for Misa-Misa to work her magic! When Misa-Misa is finished, you'll be so sexy, Ryuuzaki-kun will _drop dead!"_

I shivered.

Great word choice, Misa. Reaaaaal tactful. Seeing as how he's trying to catch a serial killer who makes people literally drop dead and all.


	21. Involving Makeovers and Brownies

**To see what Noel-chan looks like after Misa's makeover, visit the link on my author page! ^_^**

* * *

True to her word, Misa got started. First, she did my hair, which honestly felt plain weird to me. I hadn't had someone actually do my hair since I was eleven, and that was my mom, who wanted me to look somewhat attractive in our family photo. I mean sure, I went in to get my hair trimmed on a semi-regular basis, but not actually _styled_. And the most I ever did myself was stick it in a braid so I wouldn't have to mess with it.

After brushing, gelling, and scrunching, my hair was completed, and she started on my make-up. I have absolutely no idea what happened after that, because she had to remove my glasses. All I can tell you is that when she finally finished, my face felt like it had more layers than an onion.

"There!" She proclaimed, sounding proud. She held up what I guessed was a mirror, "Done! And just as sexy as Misa-Misa told you you'd be!"

Blearily, I reached for my glasses. I got my hand slapped away.

"No, no, Shortcake-chan!" Misa gasped, "You'll completely ruin your look!"

"But, Misa-chan, I can't _see,_" I sighed.

Reluctantly, she hovered my glasses in front of my eyes, careful not to actually touch the glasses to my face. I blinked.

My hair draped down over my shoulders in cascading, silky waves. My lips, glossy with a soft pink hue, somehow looked fuller than normal. My eyelashes were dark with mascara, and shaded with pale orchid eye shadow. The color choices and careful application made my blue-green eyes really stand out.

Altogether, I looked nice. Not devastatingly gorgeous, like Misa seemed to think, but definitely an improvement over my normal appearance. I actually looked…well, pretty.

Then my glasses were whisked away, and my world became a splotchy mess once more.

"Alright, NOW we have to go show the others~!" The girl sang out, yanking me out of the chair, and tugging me, stumbling, towards the door of my apartment. I barely had time to grab the box of Strawberry Daifuku cakes off the table. "Ryuuzaki-kun will want to take you as soon as…awww, Shortcake-chan, you're _blushing!_ Heehee! You're still a _virgin_, aren't you? Well, looking like that, you won't be for long~!"

That particular comment made protest futile, as it made me so incredibly mortified, I couldn't choke out anything until well after that. And by then, I had already been steered into the elevator and down towards the monitor room.

I saw two figures in the hall, which I realized must be some of the investigation team. I all but dug my heels into the ground, trying desperately to escape before any one saw me in that monstrosity of an outfit. But, looking back, that was kind of pointless. Even if I had escaped, I would have most likely run into the wall, not the elevator.

As it happened, I didn't get a chance.

Because at that moment, probably because of Misa's fit of happy giggles, they saw me. I only know this because I heard an audible gasp.

My only consolation at that point was the fact I couldn't actually see their faces. Because if I had been able to see their no-doubt looks of horror, I would have keeled over dead right then and there.

"Sorry, guys!" The blond called, pushing me past them, "You can stare at her later! Ryuuzaki-kun's up first!"

Misa must have not been paying attention where she was shoving me – at _all _– because the next thing I knew, I'd slammed my foot into the wall. Hard.

I cried out in pain. Well, what do you know. My voice was working again.

"Oops!" she yelped, kindly letting go of me so I could double over to clutch my injured foot, wobbling precariously on my uninjured one. "Wow, Shortcake-chan…you really _can't _see without your glasses, can you…?"

Oh good, that truth had finally sunk in, had it? At the expense of my foot, but, hey, better late than never.

My eyes threatened to well up with tears (Did I mention I hit that wall hard?), but I quickly forced them back down. I knew _exactly_ what happened to your face when you cry with lots of eye makeup on. It magically transforms you into the Creature from the Black Lagoon.

The pain finally subsided enough for me to sputter out, "M-Misa-chan…please give me back my g-glasses…"

To which she did. When I put them on, I saw that she was, for once, looking downright sheepish. And on the verge of tears herself.

"I'm soooooo _sorry!_ I'm really, really sorry! You don't hate me, right?"

I forced a smile. Which was hard, because my foot still hurt. A lot.

"No, no…of course not Misa-chan…it was just an accident…" I assured wheezily.

Instantaneously, her face reverted to a beaming angelic smile.

"Oh good!"

She grabbed my hand and began pulling me down the hall again, acting as if nothing had happened.

I am fairly certain Misa Amane holds the record for quickest mood-swings ever. That girl is like a bipolar hamster surfing on a tidal wave of energy drink.

Grinning in a fashion that reminded me of Ryoko, the girl continued her quick pace, forcing me to half-stumble, half-hobble behind her, trying to keep a grip on the box. We were already at the door to the Monitor Room when it fully dawned on me.

L was about to see me.

The most gorgeous man on the planet. The man whose respect and affection meant everything in the world to me. The man that I loved.

And he was about to see me.

_In. That. Damn. Dress._

Oh crap.

"_M-Misa-chan!"_ I managed shrilly, _"I can't let him see me like this!"_

The blond supermodel merely laughed, like me being consumed by sheer panic was the cutest thing she'd seen in her life.

You know what? L is completely right. Misa MUST be Kira.

No normal person is that sadistic.

"MISA-MISA PROUDLY PRESENTS, THE NEW AND IMPROVED SHORTCAKE-CHAN!" She announced loudly, thrusting me forward.

The majority of the Investigation Team was there, minus Chief Yagami and Mogi, who I then understood I'd just passed in the hallway. The team recently had a break in the Kira case, and they'd actually been able to work. Even Light was there. Yes, he'd finally been freed from the dreaded handcuffs, something that both he _and_ L had silently celebrated. He was talking with Matsuda, no doubt about the misadventures of the psycho blond who had just thrown me to the metaphorical wolves. They all looked up.

Even L.

My entire body went stiff as a board.

Sinking into utter humiliation, I vaguely wondered if Kira would kill me if I asked nice enough. Of course, judging from the frantic pace of my pulse, I wouldn't even need his help.

After what seemed an eternity of silence, Matsuda spoke up.

"You look…_amazing!"_

I blinked in shock.

"_R-Really…?"_ I darn near whispered.

"Y-Yeah…" Light added, "You look beautiful. Misa-chan did a good job."

Misa swelled up in pride, like she'd never received such a wonderful compliment.

Matsuda turned around enthusiastically to the rest of the Investigation Team.

"Doesn't she look _great?"_

The rest of the team murmured their agreement, though most, being married men, were either polite enough or felt guilty enough not to stare. Matsuda, however, wasn't.

"I mean, your hair…and…and your _eyes!_ I never noticed what a beautiful color they were! And your dress! Wow!" He gushed, sounding as over-excited as usual.

Every compliment made my cheeks turn a shade darker. I wasn't used to the attention. I mean, come on. I didn't look _that _different. Did I?

"T-Thank you," I mumbled, my eyes falling to the ground, my fingers anxiously twirling a stray lock of hair, "I…I don't think the dress…r-really suites me, though…"

I had hoped that would convey the message to all the guys. The message being _I didn't wear this willingly._

Like the good detectives they were, they got my drift. They probably suspected it the moment I got in the room. And the fact that I was embarrassed about being forced to wear that ridiculous dress made _them_ all the more embarrassed to be seeing me in it. So, basically, we were all downright uncomfortable, aside from Misa.

And Matsuda.

"No, it does! You look great! Like a girl right out of the magazines! I mean, _wow!_ I barely recognized y–"

An unlikely savior came in the form of Aizawa, who stomped forward, slapping a hand firmly on Matsuda's shoulder. His cheeks were slightly red, but I'm pretty sure it was due more to frustration because of Matsuda than it was embarrassment due to me.

"That's enough!" He barked, "Geeze, you idiot! Can't you tell you're making her uncomfortable?"

Matsuda looked back, and, seeing Aizawa was completely correct, blushed, and rubbed his head guiltily.

"I – er – s-sorry…just got a little carried away…"

"We noticed," another member mumbled, which made Matsuda look even more ashamed. I felt bad for him. He'd only been trying to be nice, after all. It wasn't his fault he had a tendency to ramble.

"Thank you, Matsuda-san," I said, giving him a small smile, "I appreciate it. That was…really kind of you."

He blinked, and smiled back. Between his cheerful, outgoing nature, and his eagerness, he kind of reminded me of a puppy. I wouldn't dare tell _him_ that, though.

"No problem, Shortcake-chan. You really _do_ look great…"

"SHE KNOWS!" Aizawa all but exploded, steering the hapless young man back towards a monitor.

It was then that I looked back towards L.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't secretly hoping he'd have a reaction similar to Matsuda's. I was expecting him to have _some_ kind of reaction, albeit much more subtle. A few words, or a nod, or maybe even a smile.

But he didn't.

Instead, I saw that he had already gone right back to typing on his computer.

My shoulders drooped a little. Misa seemed to take his lack of excitement personally, because she marched over to him, pulling me along behind her.

"Ryuuzaki-kun!" She said, her voice sickeningly sweet, with a noticeably threatening edge, "Don't you have anything to say to Shortcake-chan~?"

L finished typing, and spun his chair ever so slightly to face us. His face was blank. Not a curl of the lips, or a glimmer of approval in his eyes, or a trace of any emotion at all.

That all changed, however, when he saw the box I was holding.

Then his adorable small smile crept over his face, and his obsidian eyes sparkled.

"Ahhh…for me?" he said, a note of happiness in his voice. He took the box without bothering for an answer. "Thank you."

I just stood there.

Because I had completely humiliated myself in front of everyone by wearing that revealing, laced-up nightmare from hell, all in the secret hope I might see a gleam of SOMETHING in his eyes, and he'd just given that something I craved to a box of rice-flour cakes.

In short? I had lost to a pastry.

Misa was not happy about this either. She pursed her lips, putting her hands on her hips in a way that evidently spelled death, because both Light and Matsuda flinched noticeably.

"Don't you have _anything else_ you want to say to her~?" She asked, in her honey-and-poison coated voice.

L didn't even turn to face us again. He delicately raised a Strawberry Daifuku cake, moving his head beneath it to bite into its underside.

"Not particularly," he mumbled through a mouthful of pastry.

Misa's eyebrow twitched. Her face screwed up into a seething glare so potent it could kill small mammals. She was so upset, in fact, she couldn't even form words; she just stared at him, lips moving soundlessly in indignant rage.

My crush didn't notice; he was too busy starring at the monitor as he polished off the cakes.

Crestfallen, I turned around, trying my very hardest to hide my obvious hurt. One plus to having my hair down; it made a darn good veil to hide behind.

I quickly and quietly headed for the door. Most of the task force members must have assumed it was a desperate bid to escape from Misa while I had the chance, and moved out of my way, ushering me towards freedom.

Soon, the only one left was Light. The brown-haired Adonis must have thought L's aloofness was blatantly rude, because he sent a glare at the hunchback, gave me an apologetic smile, and stepped aside, before he resumed his work.

I murmured an excuse, and left to go change out of that damn dress. That, and potentially cry my eyes out.

000

Okay, so I didn't cry my eyes out. Trust me, I felt like it. I mean, c'mon, can you blame me? I'd been polished and painted into the prettiest version of myself I possibly could be, and not only had the love of my life not seemed to even _notice_, but he'd shown more attraction to a box of baked goods.

My own forte had come back to bite me in the ass.

Who has that happen to them? _Honestly?_

Oh, right. Me.

Life was a sadistic ol' bitty, to be sure.

Two and a half hours later found me in my kitchen. I was clothed once more in my own comfortable clothes and my pink apron. I had left my hair down and my makeup on, though. It wasn't really on purpose; I was just so consumed with thinking of other things, I hadn't noticed.

I was in the process of whipping up an extra large batch of my favorite dessert of all time: brownies, so dark and fudgy and filled with chocolaty decadence that your arteries could clog just looking at them. Topped with my special raspberry-cream cheese frosting, they were probably banned in several countries. I idly hoped that Japan was not one of them.

"Good evening," a voice said.

I yipped in surprise, dropping my wisk right into the batter. Whirling around, I saw that the great ninja-wizard Watari had walked through my walls and was now standing beside me. Of course, I can only guess, since I didn't see him do it and all. Maybe he just used ninjutsu.

"W-Watari-san!" I choked, putting my newly-freed hand to my heart. "I…I-I didn't hear you come in…"

Watari chuckled.

"Ah, I'm sorry, Shortcake-chan. Next time I'll do better in announcing my presence. May I assist?"

I forced a smile and nodded.

"Um, sure, if you'd like."

He smiled warmly at me, and rolled up his sleeves. I took the opportunity to fish my whisk out of the batter and rinse off the handle. When I had turned around, Watari had already filled the other side of the sink with soapy water, and was washing my measuring cups.

"Chocolate cake?" He asked pleasantly, eyeing the bowl I was holding.

"Close," I replied, "They're brownies."

We worked in silence. I felt guilty not saying anything, but honestly, I really wasn't in the mood to talk. I just wanted to get my chocolate treats done as soon as possible, scarf down eight or so, sneak the rest into the industrial kitchen downstairs, and turn in early.

After a while, Watari spoke up, his voice thoughtful.

"Blueberry scones."

I blinked.

"Huh?"

"Blueberry scones," he repeated, stirring the raspberry juice in my saucepan, "They're a vice of mine. Whenever I'm having a difficult time, I tend to eat more than I should. I once ate an entire batch in a single day."

He chuckled at the memory, shaking his head. The older gentleman turned to me, his face painted with a soft smile.

"I assume brownies are your comfort food?"

I paused, but quickly resumed whisking, hoping he hadn't noticed.

How stupid of me. If there was one thing I knew about ninja-wizards, it was that they had scary good observational skills.

I had more chance of being abducted by a race of alien Elvis-es.

"I know what happened earlier," he continued gently, "All the trouble you went to, just to impress him."

This time, I froze completely.

"I-It…it was Misa-chan's idea," I mumbled, "I didn't want to…"

"Regardless, I'm sure your feelings were hurt no less."

I really didn't know what to say to that. Truth has a knack for smacking you speechless. I slowly began to whisk again.

Watari continued to gaze at me, his eyes soft.

" L has…difficulty…with things of that sort. He is a genius, but…"

He sighed.

"…because of the life he has had, his social skills are severely underdeveloped. He often struggles with things that come naturally to others, Chief Yagami's son in particular."

My mind flickered back to the night after my crush's fight with Light, his words replaying in my head.

"_He is, in effect, everything I am not…"_

I frowned. L was already aware of his less-than-stellar people skills. I mean, even if he was _not_ a genius, and had the IQ of a squirrel, with how often the others pointed it out, he'd _still_ know.

I, of course, had momentarily forgotten ninja-wizards are telepathic. Watari reminded me not a second later by saying,

"The others' criticism does not help, it is true. L does not understand how to deal with people face to face, and, as a result, he can come off as somewhat cold, as you saw today."

He dried the last dirty dish, his voice quieting to a murmur.

"It is difficult for him to understand the difference between being a letter on a screen and being a man."

A lump formed in my throat. I eventually forced it back down, pouring the batter into the prepared pans.

"…I-I know, Watari-san," I replied quietly, "And…and I can't even imagine what it must be like for him, but…b-but sometimes…"

"…you are not a bother," Watari interrupted, which, of course, was exactly what my concern was, "Though he has trouble showing it, L is very fond of you, Shortcake-chan. The fact he confides in you things he tells no other is proof of that. You are perhaps the only true friend he has."

The older gentleman smiled.

"Don't give up on him. Just give him a little more time."

I smiled. And it wasn't forced. Leave it to a ninja-wizard to tell me exactly what I needed to hear.

"Okay. I will, Watari-san."

Looking back, I should've noticed the gleam in his eyes before I turned towards the oven. That way, I could've prepared for what he said next.

"Good. Because patient, devoted young ladies are in short supply, particularly ones with your culinary talents. L will be lucky to have you as his bride."

I nearly dropped my brownies right then and there.

Gasping, sputtering, and blushing like mad, I shoved the pans into the oven and whirled around to see he had vanished, with only a far off chuckle as evidence he'd even been there in the first place.

000

It was midnight before I'd put the finishing touches on my brownies. I'd scrapped my plan of binging, and had only saved myself one, before I carted the lot of them down to the industrial kitchen on the first floor. Which, as it happened, was good, because the only thing left of L's sweet supply was the empty box of strawberry Daifuku cakes.

I had barely stepped over the threshold of the kitchen when I froze.

There was L, starring at the empty counter, as if in the hope that the magical desert fairy would pop out and whip up a cake. He was concentrating so hard, in fact, he probably wouldn't have even noticed my presence, had he not smelled the brownies.

Yes, he smelled the brownies. L has a pretty fantastic sense of smell when it comes to sweets. I couldn't even count the number of times he showed up just as I was pulling a tray of cookies out of the oven. I'm pretty sure he could track down a stray cupcake anywhere in the building.

But, yeah. Anyways.

L turned around and saw me, before his eyes trailed downwards to the platter of sweets I was holding. A spark of excitement flickered in his dark eyes. He wandered over eagerly.

"Brownies," he murmured softly, an adorable little smile creeping over his face, "_Frosted_ brownies…"

I couldn't help but smile a little. Leave it to L to be excited I'd found a way to pump _more_ sugar into a desert.

"Thank you, Noel-chan. I think I shall have some of these now…"

My crush carefully slipped the platter out of my hands, and began a happy trudge towards the door. However, he paused, as if remembering something. He looked back, gazing out at me from under his thick raven hair.

"Would you…care to join me?" He said slowly, as if he was speaking a foreign language.

I blinked, just barely managing to suppress a surprised _Really?_ on the tip of my tongue. I couldn't ever remember him ever asking me to join him. _Ever._

"…um, yes! I-I'd love to!" I replied hastily.

L's eyes widened, looking just as surprised as I was. He simply stared at me a few seconds. I got the distinct impression that he had no idea what he was supposed to do after that.

In an effort to break the awkward silence, I spoke up again.

"I'll…I'll get the plates and silverware, and, um…would you like some milk too?"

He blinked, and his gaze strayed up to the ceiling.

"Yes, I think I would," he replied thoughtfully, "With chocolate syrup, please."

With that, he plodded off down the hall. I scrambled to get the eating utensils and milk, and, balancing everything precariously, followed slowly after him.

I was darn near giddy, I have to admit. Surprised, even a bit shocked, but giddy nonetheless. Until, of course, I started thinking about it.

The fact was, L never was one to socialize, at least when he didn't have to. And the more I thought of it, the more out of character it seemed. And the way he'd asked me had seemed…well, almost robotic, as if it wasn't his idea at all…

And then it hit me.

_Watari._

I shut my eyes.

_Of course_ it had been the match-making ninja-wizard's idea! I'd just gotten done talking with him about that sort of thing! He'd probably gone right down to L and told him he'd hurt my feelings and…oh boy. What the heck _else_ had he told him?

_No. No, surely he wouldn't have said anything about me __**loving**__ L…would he? No! He wouldn't do that to me! Unless he thought I needed a 'push'…_

Oh crap.

Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap.

By the time I wobbled my way into the monitor room, I was darn near sweating bullets. My shy instincts told me to run for the hills, before he could accidentally crush my heart into pieces. But I stayed firmly rooted in place, clinging to my scrap of backbone in a death grip. I was overreacting, and even if sharing a desert with me was Watari's idea, I was gonna make the most of it.

So I nervously sat down in a swivel chair beside L's own, divvying up the goods I'd brought, and slipped a plate of two brownies and a glass of extra-chocolatey milk in front of him.

L rewarded me with another of his heart-melting little smiles, and began eating the brownie with a fork and a knife. Not wanting to seem like a barbarian, I used a fork and knife as well.

We ate in silence, L, for the most part, looking up at his many monitors, and me staring sheepishly at the floor, trying to enjoy his company without freaking out. Which proved to be rather difficult.

I'd started thinking that maybe L wouldn't say anything, in which case I didn't know whether to be relieved or disappointed, when finally, L spoke up.

"Watari informed me I made a slight discrepancy earlier."

My mouth went dry. I took a gulp of milk to remedy that.

It didn't help much.

He continued, his voice his usual mater-of-fact monotone.

"It seems the correct response in that situation would've been to tell you that you looked beautiful. However, since all the others had informed you of this, I felt that would have been redundant. It was not because I did not find you attractive."

L stared into my eyes, and my breath threatened to vacate my lungs.

"Furthermore, you have always been attractive, and makeup, hairstyle, and attire affect that minimally."

I just gaped at him.

Did L just say…that he thought I was…?

"…y-you think I'm _pretty?"_ I finally choked out, my cheeks flushed red.

"Yes," he replied, helping himself to another brownie. He took a bite, chewing, "As does the rest of the task force, as you heard today."

He swallowed and frowned, an unfamiliar emotion touching his dark eyes.

"May I ask you a favor, Noel-chan?"

Somehow, through my stupor, I nodded.

"I'd prefer it if you did not spend entire days with Misa. Your time is far too valuable, and I do not like having to share you."


End file.
